


Doubt & Trust

by cestlavieminako



Category: Kamen Rider Zero-One
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:00:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 55,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21981310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestlavieminako/pseuds/cestlavieminako
Summary: Fuwa has been sent undercover to investigate Humagear brothels. Aruto unwittingly finds himself visiting one. They each find someone within that they wish to save.
Relationships: Hiden Aruto/Jin, Horobi/Fuwa Isamu, past Amatsu Gai/Horobi, past Amatsu Gai/Jin
Comments: 172
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

For not the first time since he’d taken on the assignment, Fuwa wondered if he’d taken on more than he could handle.

AIMS had been investigating a rash of secret brothels showing up across the city, where Humagears were more or less enslaved to do whatever the owners and clients wished. Humagears didn’t have the same rights as humans, but being kept against their wills and being forced to engage in sexual acts (and they were definitely being forced—Fuwa had seen some of the footage that one of the agents had brought back, and it had made him sick to his stomach) was against the law. It was the same as if these shady organizations had kidnapped humans and forced them into their service. 

It had taken over a month of constant investigation, but they’d managed to track down the largest of the brothels, the most influential one, and Fuwa himself had been chosen to go in that night. The rest of his squad would be on standby, waiting to raid the building. He had to get as much evidence as he could, and was silently thankful that technology had come as far as it had. Instead of wearing a wire, there was a small transmitter fitted into the cufflinks he wore. The diamond stud hanging on his left earlobe doubled as a camera; simply touching it would allow him to snap a photo, and it would appear directly on the hard drive of the computer in the surveillance van. If he was searched at the door, nothing would be detected, even by the most powerful scanners. He would simply look like a rich snob who was looking for some illegal fun.

“Remember, we’ll be waiting for your signal,” Yua reminded him, as he slid on his sports jacket. “As long as you get enough evidence to hold up in court, shutting this base down won’t be a problem.”

“I know. Believe me, I hope they’re sloppy enough that I can be out of there in record time,” Fuwa stated. “I hate these kinds of missions. Human or Humagear, nobody should be held against their will for the pleasure of some sick freaks.”

Not wanting to take any chances of being spotted by the surveillance van and blowing the entire operation, Fuwa had been given the keys to a rather plush sports car, one that, although very luxurious, was incredibly impractical for everyday use. But it would give the illusion that he was important, that he had money, and hopefully, those would be enough to get him in.

He handed his keys over to the valet outside of the club that served as the front for the brothel. It seemed like an average, overpriced dance club, but Fuwa had been coached on what he needed to say to whom, and before he’d had a second sip of his gin and tonic, he was being escorted back away from the pulsing bass beat of the music, and led through a door guarded by a man even bigger than the bouncer at the club’s door.

It was like stepping into an entirely different building. It was brighter than the club, the walls and furnishings all pure white, the room lit with milky white lights. It seemed far too pristine for a place that was dealing in slavery, Fuwa thought to himself, making certain to get as many photos as he could without looking suspicious. He could tap the earring in the act of brushing his hair back, but too frequently might attract attention.

Things proceeded rather quickly after that. Cash was handed over, and Fuwa was led down a long hallway to a rather ornate door. The large gold padlock was unlocked, and the door was opened, and Fuwa was ushered inside.

They clearly took no chance with their prized Humagears, Fuwa thought to himself, the door closing behind him as soon as he’d cleared the threshold. Then he heard the soft sound of a chain rattling, and he looked to see a young man rising from the floor. God…he had a collar around his neck, and a chain led from it to the wall. Were all of the Humagears here shackled like this? The chain and collar looked as if they were more for aesthetics than practicality, but even so, the collar looked just a bit too tight, and it was just degrading!

As the Humagear approached him, Fuwa’s eyes were drawn to his lack of a headset. And then, he had to struggle to not show any reaction as he took in the thin cracks on the side of the Humagear’s face, the inner workings that had once been covered by a headset now bare and exposed. It looked almost as though someone had forcibly ripped the headset from his head. Who? A client? One of the scumbags who ran the place? 

“Welcome,” the Humagear all but purred, his fingers reaching out to run along Fuwa’s necktie. “What can I do to please you tonight, master?”

Fuwa felt his stomach turn. The Humagear’s words sounded welcoming, perhaps even a bit playful, but his eyes simply looked dead. 

“What’s your name?” Fuwa found himself saying. 

The Humagear managed a small smile, his fingers still continuing to run along the length of Fuwa’s necktie, before reaching up to loosen the knot. “Horobi, master.”

God. Fuwa’s eyes darted away from Horobi, taking in the deplorable conditions of the room, tapping the earring several times, making certain to get a shot of the chain that secured the Humagear. Everything looked clean enough, but he noticed…something staining the wall beside the bed. He’d have to get closer to examine it better, and that would surely arouse suspicion, but he would have bet that it was faded Humagear blood. Nothing else was quite the same shade of blue. And there were spots on Horobi’s bare chest that looked as if they’d been damaged and haphazardly repaired.

Horobi finished undoing the knot on Fuwa’s necktie, letting it slide to the floor, and Fuwa brought his attention back to the Humagear.

“This is your first time here, isn’t it? You look a little overwhelmed,” Horobi continued, his hand trailing slowly down Fuwa’s chest, seeming to enjoy the feeling of the silk shirt beneath his fingers. “Let me take care of you, master. Let me make you feel good.”

Fuwa caught Horobi’s hand as it approached his belt, struggling to control his breathing. “You don’t need to…”

“Of course I do,” Horobi continued. “That’s why I’m here. No need to be shy.”

Fuwa managed to keep a grip on Horobi’s wriggling hand, which seemed determined to keep moving south. “You really don’t. This place…it’s awful. It’s wrong.”

Horobi fixed him with a perplexed look, and Fuwa lowered his voice, not certain if anyone were watching or listening in. “I can get you out of here.”

A soft laugh left Horobi’s lips. “Oh? Will you take me home with you? Save me from this place so I can be yours instead?” he asked, a trace of bitterness in his voice. “You wouldn’t be the first to offer me that particular freedom.”

With that, Horobi tugged his hand free from Fuwa’s grasp, working to unfasten his belt. “If you just stand there staring at me, not doing anything, they’ll kick you out,” he said, his voice just as soft as Fuwa’s had been. “You don’t look like the type to fuck a chained-up Humagear, so you either need to let me blow you, or I can put on a little show for you while you jerk off.”

Fuwa felt his face heat up, but he said nothing.

“Well?” Horobi breathed, his fingers resting on the zipper on Fuwa’s slacks. When Fuwa didn’t reply, he tugged the zipper downward, hooking his fingers around the waistband of Fuwa’s underwear and drawing them and the slacks down far enough to free his cock, which was slowly stirring from the attention.

Fuwa finally snapped out of it, tapping one of his cufflinks. “I’ve got the evidence we need. Begin the raid.”

Horobi raised an eyebrow. “You’re a cop?”

Fuwa exhaled heavily, trying to control his breathing. “AIMS. Don’t worry…you’re not going to be arrested or anything.”

Horobi frowned as Fuwa hurriedly fastened his pants, trying to look as though he hadn’t been five seconds away from receiving a blowjob. He detected sounds of a commotion from somewhere in the building, and he guessed that whoever Fuwa was with, they were on their way in.

“Too bad,” he murmured. “You should have waited a few more minutes.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re really going to free me, then I wouldn’t have minded blowing you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Aruto sighed as the room emptied out, glad that it was the final meeting of the day. “Ahh…I don’t think my brain can remember one more fact,” he said, shrugging off his suit jacket and looking forward to arriving at the hotel so he could slip into his more familiar—and comfortable—hoodie and jeans.

“It is all important information for the president of Hiden Enterprises to know, Aruto shachou,” Izu stated, glancing at her tablet. “The next meeting will begin tomorrow afternoon promptly at 1PM, after the company luncheon at 11:00.”

“Ah, a business lunch, huh? Maybe I can share some of my great jokes before we’re all stuck in a conference room for five hours again,” Aruto mused.

“I would not recommend it, Aruto shachou.”

Aruto pouted, but before he could reply, one of the businessmen…rats, he couldn’t remember his name, and asking Izu would have just been tacky…approached him. “Another long day comes to an end!” he stated. “Do you have any plans for the evening, Mr. Hiden?”

“Oh…not really,” Aruto admitted. “Some dinner, some relaxing…I don’t know what’s good in the area, though.”

“I know of a wonderful club that’s perfect for releasing the day’s tensions,” the man continued. “If you’d care to accompany me…it’s members only, but I’m sure I could convince them to let you have a look around, since you’re such an influential man.”

“Well…why not?” Aruto agreed. 

“Fantastic! Several of us are heading over right now. Feel free to bring your assistant along,” the man added.

Well…that was strange, Aruto thought; of course he’d bring Izu along. As the president’s secretary, she went everywhere he did (the only exceptions seeming to be when he used the restroom and when he went to sleep at night, although he was certain she was somewhere nearby).

They followed the man outside to where a limo idled at the sidewalk, and Aruto was surprised to see several of the men he’d just seen in the conference within the vehicle.

They headed off, and Aruto couldn’t tell exactly where they were headed, thanks to the heavily tinted windows, so he simply sat back and attempted to relax. 

Before he knew it, the limo came to a stop, and the driver opened the door. The men all filed out, murmuring amongst themselves, and Aruto simply followed after them, Izu at his side.

When they went inside, Aruto thought at first that they were at a hotel, and a rather luxurious one at that. “Ah, I think there was a misunderstanding, I’ve already got a hotel room for the conference…”

Several of the men chuckled, and the one who’d invited Aruto along slung an arm around his shoulders. “No no, this is no hotel, my boy. Come along, now, you’ll love it. I’m certain you’ve never seen its like before.”

The man steered Aruto along, until they met someone else who seemed quite familiar with their host. After some whispered conversation and a few glances at Aruto, he was steered down the hallway once again, and they came to a stop outside a rather ornate gilded door.

“Here you are, my boy. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like. You can stay until tomorrow, if you’d like,” the man chuckled.

“Ah…thank you?”

The door was unlocked and Aruto took a few tentative steps into the room, with Izu on his heels. 

The room was almost as luxurious as his hotel room. The furniture looked comfortable enough, and there was a separate suite that Aruto assumed was a bedroom, along with a door that led to a large bathroom with a walk-in shower and a separate hot tub.

“Weird…I thought he said this wasn’t a hotel? It sure looks like one to me,” Aruto mumbled, wandering into the bedroom and flicking on the light.

A loud yelp of surprise had Izu hurrying to his side, and she blinked in equal surprise at the young man lounging on the bed. He was attractive, with dark shaggy hair, playful eyes, and a very skimpy pink robe barely covered his body.

“Welcome,” the young man purred.

“Wh-wh-wh-what’s going on here?” Aruto squeaked.

“Ah, you look so stressed…” the young man said, a slow smile crossing his lips as he stretched his body across the luxurious bedding.

Izu tilted her head, a small frown on her features as she noticed many small things in the room. There were not any windows; only something that appeared to be one, but it turned out to be drapes surrounding a faux window. On the bed’s headboard hung what appeared to be a variety of restraints. Manacles, a glittering collar attached to a flimsy chain, handcuffs. A box sat nearby, and she stepped over to it, crouching down to open the lid. Inside laid quite an impressive assortment of sex toys, all well used.

“Oh, your friend found the treasure chest,” the young man said, his grin widening, before he paused. “Am I entertaining both of you tonight?”

“Huh?” Aruto finally managed.

Izu lifted the box, bringing it over to Aruto and opening the lid once again so he could peruse the selection. 

“Wh-what is this?” Aruto stammered, feeling his face heating up.

“It appears to be quite a wide selection of items to be used for sexual play—“

“I can see that!” Aruto interrupted, waving his hands to stop Izu’s explanation.

The young man rose from the bed and made his way over to Aruto, his fingers beginning to knead at his shoulders. “What is your pleasure tonight? Let me help melt that stress away~”

The young man’s hair shifted slightly, and Izu noticed a soft, glowing red light coming from where his ears would be if he were a human.

“You are a Humagear?”

The young man glanced at her, but nodded. “Of course.”

“Yet you do not have a headset.” Izu paused, running through her records. “You are not in our database…and you do not appear to have a visible identification code. Who are you?”

The young man blinked, regarding her curiously. “I don’t know what all that other stuff is about, but I’m Jin.”

“And this establishment is…what?”

“A place for people to come to when they want to relax and feel good,” Jin stated, his fingers continuing to massage Aruto’s shoulders. 

“W-wait, wait!” Aruto finally spoke up. “Are you telling me this place is a…a…”

“A brothel, according to the information provided,” Izu said with a nod.

“Ehhhhh?? Why did they bring me to a brothel?” Aruto exclaimed.

“More importantly, from what I have seen, this establishment does not seem entirely legal.”

Jin paused, glancing between the two. “You two are talking a lot…and I don’t get most of it,” he admitted. “All I know is that people like to come here and do stuff with me, but you’re not. How come?”

“U-um…” Aruto began, then paused. How could he even answer that question. “F-for now, why don’t you just…uh…sit on the bed and wait, ok?”

A smile crossed Jin’s lips, and he sashayed over to the bed, perching on the edge and crossing his legs.

Aruto gulped, then motioned Izu over. “This place is really weird.”

“I do not advise staying in this establishment for very long, Aruto shachou. If they are employing an unregistered Humagear…combined with the questionable items in this room…” Izu paused, nodding at the restraints on the bed, which Jin took as a sign of interest, and lounged across the mattress again, his robe riding up until the bottom of his ass was nearly visible.

Aruto swallowed and quickly looked away. “Even so…I can’t just leave and pretend I never saw anything. It’s not right. He might need help.”

“He seems to be aware of what he is doing…”

“Maybe…but what if he’s being forced to do it? He could be a prisoner here. Maybe he has no choice.” Aruto frowned. “I don’t know what to do. Should I call the police?”

“Most likely, the authorities would not investigate unless humans were in danger. Plus, it would not be wise if you were present. It could cause quite a scandal.”

Aruto waved his hand. “I don’t care about that. I just want everyone to be safe and happy. Haa…I don’t know what to do.” 

Aruto was so wrapped up in thought, he didn’t give a second thought to sitting on the bed, trying to mull through his choices. That didn’t last very long, however, as Jin was crawling onto his lap. “Are you finally ready to play with me?” he purred, shifting so he could effectively rub himself against Aruto’s groin.

Aruto yelped, his face flushing as he grabbed Jin’s hips to still his movements. 

“Hmm…you want to be in charge, then? That’s fine,” Jin continued. “Just tell me how you want me.”

“Look…Jin-san…”

“Oh no, just Jin is fine! I don’t deserve any honorifics.”

Aruto’s fingers tightened around the fabric of Jin’s robe for just a moment. Did this Humagear truly think so little of himself? “Ok. Jin. You don’t have to do anything to me, or with me. You can just relax.”

Jin regarded Aruto curiously, even as he was guided off Aruto’s lap. How strange…by now, any men who visited him would have done _something_! 

“Oh! I know!” Aruto exclaimed, hopping to his feet, and rummaged through his jacket pockets until he came out with a handful of business cards. “Ah, please tell me I kept it here and it’s not sitting on my desk… _yes_!”

Izu and Jin both regarded Aruto curiously as he took out his cell phone, looking carefully at a business card and entering in a phone number, then waited for someone to answer.

“Yes?”

“Ah…Fuwa-san? This is Hiden Aruto. Look, I need to talk to you about something…”

“I’m sorry, shachou, I’m in the middle of wrapping up a case, can it wait..?”

“There’s some kind of weird Humagear brothel in town, and some guys I was in a meeting with took me there.”

“…say that again?”

“I don’t know exactly where it is, the limo I was in had tinted windows, but…I’m here with Izu, and she thinks it’s really sketchy, too.” Aruto took several steps away from the bed, hoping Jin wouldn’t listen in. “There’s a Humagear here with no headset and no identification code, Izu says he’s not in the database, either. He might be here against his will. All I know is that his name is Jin.”

“Jin?”

Suddenly there was noise in the background, and Aruto thought that Fuwa had dropped his phone, until an unfamiliar voice began to speak. “You. Did you just say Jin? Who are you? Where is he?”

“Who..?”

“Horobi-san, do you know this Humagear? Here, let me just put this on speaker,” Fuwa said from nearby.

“We were separated a long time ago. I thought he was…but he’s alive? Describe him to me.”

“Um…he’s tall. Dark hair, really shaggy. Smiles a lot.” Don’t mention the lack of clothes, Aruto’s common sense whispered to him. Whoever Horobi was, he didn’t seem as though he’d be happy to hear that Aruto had seen too much of his skin.

“Send a photo. Immediately. You can do that, can’t you?” 

“Huh? Well…yeah, sure I can. I’ll call back in a few,” Aruto said, hanging up and hoping that Jin would be all right with this.

Aruto perched on the edge of the bed, and Jin, who had been lounging against the pile of pillows, sat up eagerly. 

“Are you ready to play now?”

“Well…before that…can I take your picture?”

Jin’s expression faltered for just a moment. If Aruto had to guess, he would have said that the Humagear looked afraid for a split second. “I…I guess so. I don’t like pictures.”

“Just one, ok? Please?”

Jin nodded hesitantly, forcing a smile, but to Aruto, he looked afraid. If he hadn’t been a Humagear, he would have been convinced that Jin was about to cry. As it was, his eyes took on a shiny sheen, as if he were in the brink of tears. That was definitely an alteration; Humagears shouldn’t be able to do that.

Jin arranged himself on the pillows again, trying for the seductive air he’d had before, but he simply looked like a scared child who was about to be punished.

“You don’t have to do that, we could just take a selfie or something…”

“It’s ok, just take the photo. Please?” Jin whispered, his voice shaking.

Aruto felt uncomfortable, but did as Jin asked. Once he had the photo, he sent it to Fuwa’s cell, then reached over and ruffled Jin’s hair. “Thank you. I won’t ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable again, ok?”

Jin sniffled and nodded, just as Aruto’s phone rang. 

“Ah, Fuwa-san, did you get..?”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?”

Aruto yanked the phone away from his ear. “Nothing! I just asked to take his photo, and he looked scared, but you asked…”

A sound like a choked sob came from the other end of the line, then there was silence for a moment before Fuwa came back on the line. “Sorry. This sure is a coincidence, because I was just part of a raid on a similar brothel, and that was Horobi, the Humagear I met there. He’s cooperating with the investigation against the place.” He sighed. “Shit…I’d need to get the team ready to go, they’re all working on this. And we’d need to track you down. Can Izu give us permission to track her? That would sure make this easier.”

“Yeah, of course,” Aruto said, relaying the question to Izu, who agreed. “How soon can you get here?”

“As soon as we’re able, shachou…but it might be a few hours.”

“A few _hours_? What if something happens and they kick us out before then?”

“The fact that you’re on a cell phone in your room makes me think wherever you are is a bit more lax than where I was. Just…I don’t know…try to not get kicked out.”

Aruto frowned. “That guy said I could stay as long as I wanted…so we should be ok.”

“Good. Sit tight, ok? I’ll try to get a rush on this. I want to shut these places down as much as you do, but there’s only so many of us on the assignment.”

“I understand. Thank you, Fuwa-san.”

Aruto disconnected and slid the phone back into his pocket, sighing. “Well, looks like we’re here for a little while, till Fuwa-san can get here.”

“Fuwa-san? Is that a friend of yours?” Jin asked, suddenly looking a little apprehensive at the thought of having more company. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d suddenly been confronted with multiple guests to entertain, but…well, he didn’t really like it when that happened.

Aruto nodded, reaching over to gently take Jin’s hands in his. “Yes. He wants to help you…to help you leave this place. He knows someone that’s looking for you. Someone named Horobi.”

“H-Horobi..?”

As Aruto watched, Jin’s eyes took on that shiny sheen again, and his face crumpled in sadness. “Horobi…he’s ok? He’s coming for Jin?”

Aruto nodded, giving Jin’s hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Yes. They want to help Jin. I do, too. Can you be patient until they come? It might be a few hours, but they’re going to get here as soon as they possibly can.”

Jin nodded, lowering his gaze, sniffling.

“Don’t be sad…it’s ok. Here…” Aruto wrapped his arms around Jin, hugging him as if he were simply a very tall child, rubbing his back gently. As time passed, his soft whimpers and sniffles quieted, and he seemed content to simply lean against Aruto.

“I like you,” Jin finally said, peering up at Aruto. “What’s your name?”

“Hiden Aruto.”

“Aruto…you’re nice. All the men who come here always tell me they’ll do good things for me, but then…they want me to do things for them. Or they just do things to me. You didn’t do anything to me. And you’re not going to, are you?”

“Of course not. I just want to help you,” Aruto reassured him.

“If you weren’t lying…if Horobi really comes, and I can leave here…then I’ll be your boyfriend,” Jin declared. 

“Y-you don’t have to…”

Aruto trailed off as he heard something, and he held up a hand for silence. Even Izu seemed to perk up, listening in the distance.

“Aruto shachou, I do believe that AIMS has arrived.”

Aruto grinned. “Great! Jin, do you want to change into something…uh…that covers you a little more?”

Jin blinked in confusion, but nodded, going over to the closet and dropping the robe on the floor. Aruto flushed, quickly averting his eyes, and it felt like only seconds had passed before Jin returned, now clad in a pair of jeans and a thin hoodie.

The commotion in the hall grew closer, until there was a shout, and the door flew open. Aruto immediately put his hands up, not knowing if Fuwa had mentioned to his crew that he was there.

“Hiden shachou, I’m glad to see you’re safe. Could you and your party follow me, please? Stay close,” a brusque voice stated, and Aruto was fairly certain that this was the woman that had been working with Fuwa when they’d met. Yaiba, he thought her name was.

Aruto put a gentle hand on Jin’s arm, wanting to keep him close, but not wanting to frighten him more than he already must have been. He could feel Jin shaking, but the Humagear followed dutifully alongside him, Izu close behind, and they followed Yaiba down the hallway and to a back stairwell.

“Fuwa let us know your location. Thank you for allowing us to trace your signal, Izu-san.” She nodded toward Jin. “This is the Humagear that Fuwa’s rescue was asking about?”

Aruto nodded, and they continued to hurry down the stairs until they reached the first floor. Yaiba stepped in front of them, peering out the door, then nodded for them to go ahead.

Aruto saw Fuwa standing beside an AIMS van when they exited the building. Standing beside him was an unfamiliar man, blond, wearing a baggy sweater and sweatpants. Was that Horobi? He looked up when they left the building, and Aruto heard a soft whimper come from Jin’s lips.

Then Jin was racing across the blacktop, and Horobi was hurrying to meet him halfway. They collided, arms going around one another, even as they both fell to their knees, clinging to one another, soft whimpers coming from them both. Horobi reached up to smooth Jin’s hair back, drawing back to look into his eyes.

“Papa,” Jin sobbed.

And all hell broke loose with that single word.


	3. Chapter 3

“December 29, 2019, 7:40 PM. Yaiba Yua performing the interview with one of the Humagears recovered from the brothel. Please state your name for the record.”

“Horobi.”

“Thank you. We wish to shut down all branches of this brothel, so any information you can provide us with would be appreciated. I understand this might bring up uncomfortable topics, and I apologize in advance. If you need a moment during the interview, please just let me know, and we can take a short recess.”

“I understand, but I would prefer to get it over with.”

“Very well. The offer stands if you should change your mind. Now, how long were you held at the brothel?”

“Five years, to the best of my knowledge. I didn’t have an exact way to measure the passage of time, but it should be evident in my databanks.”

“With your permission, we'll check that later for accuracy."

"You have my permission."

"And how were you brought to the brothel? Were you abducted?”

“Not exactly. I made a poor decision.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ll need to go back several years prior to explain. Would that be acceptable?”

“Of course.”

“I was created by Zaia Enterprises.”

“Zaia? Not Hiden? I was under the impression that the majority of Humagears were produced by their company.”

“Perhaps, but make no mistake, Zaia has produced a fair amount of their own. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if many of them were created to be shipped directly to these brothels.”

“Why do you say that? Did you witness something?”

“In a way. You see…not long after I was created, I was taught the process of assembling Humagears.”

“What..?”

“That makes it sound more innocent than it was. I was shown how to take various parts and assemble them into an entirely new Humagear. I didn’t know that what I was doing was wrong…perhaps even illegal. I’m sure you must know of the black market Humagear rings?”

“Of course. Wait, are you saying that you..?”

“Unfortunately. I later realized that I was being given various parts from various Humagears, and was reassembling them so they had no identification codes, so they could be sold or given to a third party with no way of tracing them.”

“You yourself have no code, do you, Horobi-kun?”

“I do not. I don’t believe my creation was very legal, in all honesty. It’s quite possible that, if you were to scan me, all of my limbs would show up as having belonged to Humagears that were dismantled, destroyed, or gone missing over the years. If it's necessary, you have my permission to do the scan.”

“Thank you. I'll get back to you on that. So, what do you believe was happening with the Humagears you assembled?”

“I didn’t think much on it in the beginning. I was simply doing a job, and doing my best at it. I wondered if they were being created for another department at Zaia, perhaps. I asked once…I never received a proper answer, it was vague, but it was insinuated that I was doing just that. While I was a prisoner at the brothel, I couldn’t help but wonder if the whole thing was funded by Zaia.”

“That’s a very bold accusation.”

“But what would they have done with all of the Humagears? They simply vanished. They never existed. There are certainly more than two of the brothels across Japan…who is to say that every Humagear didn’t come from Zaia? If I looked at the photos of the Humagears retrieved from the brothels, would I remember sculpting their faces and bringing them online for the first time?”

“We may have to do just that. Now…the fact that you’re unregistered is a definite problem. That’s something that will need to be fixed in the near future, or it’ll bring up a lot of legal issues that could bring all of this to a standstill. But the larger issue right now is the Humagear named Jin. He called you ‘papa’, did he not?”

“He did.”

“Did you create Jin as well?”

“I did.”

“Did you create him as your child?”

“I did not. Jin…he wasn’t one of the assignments given to me. I suppose…I was bored. I wanted to see what I could do on my own, without guidelines, without time constraints. I was in an assembly room by myself, day in and day out. Can you imagine how lonely that would be? I simply wanted a companion. I never stopped to think that anyone would be upset by this. Perhaps I was selfish. But I took my time in between orders. Some nights, I worked late, only stopping when I needed to charge myself. 

“It took me some time, but when I was finished…I thought he was wonderful. I believed that I had truly outdone myself with Jin. I brought him online, but I had to keep him hidden. I knew that my creators would take him away if they knew of his existence, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be alone again. I wanted to teach him as much as I could. While I worked, he read what I had around, or he would watch programs on the small television I was allowed to keep for entertainment. 

“One night…I can’t recall what he’d been watching, but he turned to me and said ‘Horobi created me. So Horobi is my papa, right?’ I suppose I’d never thought of it like that. I’d built so many Humagears over time, but none of them had been as personal as Jin. I felt…warm. I felt that Jin was truly the most precious person to me, and I began to think of him as my son. But then…”

“Do you need a moment? You don’t have to push yourself…”

“No. I’ll be fine. I lost track of time one day, and didn’t have Jin hidden away to charge when I got my daily visit with my orders. They saw Jin. They knew he wasn’t one of the Humagears I’d been charged with assembling. They realized I’d created an entire Humagear on my own. I was…punished severely. Beaten. In front of Jin. He was begging them to stop hurting me. Even now, I wish he’d stayed quiet…his pleas just spurred them on. They…wanted him to show how much he wanted them to stop hurting me. They…turned their attention on him…”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to be specific in your statement…”

“They raped him. In front of me. Repeatedly. They…took turns. They were hurting him. He was begging them to stop, and they told him if he didn’t take it, that I’d suffer for it. He suffered through it until they grew tired of him. Then…they switched over to me. Jin…he was so frightened…I kept telling him to stay silent, that I would be all right. I would have endured anything if it would have kept him safe.

“Once they were through with me…they took Jin away. I found out later that he’d been sent out to ‘work’. I know now that he’d been sent to one of the brothels. But back then, they told me to just do my job and not to try anything, or Jin would suffer. If I was good, I would be able to see him again. I was a fool to believe them. 

“Within a week, I found myself powering back up in an unfamiliar place. The same room where your agent found me. My usefulness had apparently ended, since I’d tried to think for myself. I was told my ‘talents’ were being squandered in that dark room, assembling Humagears. Apparently the president of the company was one of the men that had their fun with Jin and I…it had been his idea to send me off to my new job.”

“The company president…the CEO, you mean? Zaia’s?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know which one he was. Perhaps it was a lie. I only ever saw one man before that day, the one who brought me my orders, and then came to inspect my creations.”

“If I were to show you some photos…would you be up to it?”

“I suppose. It’s been some time since I was at Zaia, though. I apologize if I don’t recognize anyone.”

“But if you _can_ identify even one man, that could give us what we need to continue the investigation.”

“Very well. Let me see the photos.”

Photo after photo was passed to Horobi, and with every one, he shook his head, unable to identify the man pictured.

Until the last one.

When he met the gaze of the smirking man in the photo, he shot up, his chair scraping back on the floor.

“This one…he’s the one. He’s the one who beat me. The one who told Jin to do what they wanted and they’d free me. This son of a bitch…who is he?”

“That is Amatsu Gai, the CEO of Zaia Corporation. And apparently, according to your recollections, he can be linked to the brothels. If nothing else, he can be charged with what he did to you and Jin-kun. But I guarantee, with a little more digging, we can find exactly what we need on him to take him down.”

“Good. Is that…do you need anything else from me?”

“Not at this time. Thank you, Horobi-kun. Jin-kun’s interview should be just about over, if you’d like to wait for him.”

“I would. Thank you.”

“This ends the testimony of the Humagear Horobi, 8:36PM, December 29, 2019.”


	4. Chapter 4

Horobi had taken a seat outside of the room where Jin was being interviewed, waiting quietly and hoping that his son wouldn’t be too distraught from dredging up old memories. Talking about that day had shaken Horobi, and he always tried to keep his emotions from getting the better of him. But being reunited with Jin had been so emotional on its own, and then suddenly having to think about things he’d rather forget…

There was a click, and Horobi’s gaze lifted to the door. He saw Fuwa first, pushing the door open, and then…

The turmoil on Jin’s face was painful to behold, and Horobi rose to his feet, quickly crossing the short distance between them. Jin’s eyes had that shiny look to them again—Horobi wanted to find whoever had modified his son’s eyes to look as though he were on the verge of crying, and kill them. How _dare_ they exploit Jin’s innocence like that?

When Jin saw Horobi, he took a step toward him, burying his face in Horobi’s borrowed shirt, his arms going around his waist and hugging him tight, as if he were in dire need of feeling grounded.

He probably did, Horobi thought to himself, gently running his hand over Jin’s hair. 

“Um…we should have enough to get started. We have to keep you both in custody for the time being, though, so…”

“I understand,” Horobi said, his voice soft, interrupting whatever Fuwa had been about to say. “Could you please show us to wherever we’re being kept? I think we need some time alone. And we need to charge soon.”

Fuwa blinked, then nodded. “Right. If you’ll follow me?” He watched Horobi whisper something to Jin, then wrap an arm around his waist, and they followed after him. Even though they were both Humagears, they looked exhausted.

And truthfully, Fuwa thought to himself, after what Jin had told him about his time in captivity, they probably _were_ exhausted. Mentally and physically. It was sure to have run their batteries down, and even if not, they probably simply wanted to be alone for a bit, now that humans who were little more than strangers knew their darkest secrets.

Fuwa led them to the holding area that AIMS used when they brought in rogue Humagears, and he hesitated in front of one of the cells. “I’m sorry that it’s a bit cramped, but it’s all we’re equipped with. We’ve set up charging stations for both of you, and extra furniture so you can relax.” 

For the first time, Fuwa was thankful that they had a few holding cells that didn’t look like bleak prison cells. If they happened to bring in a Humagear that simply needed protection, they didn’t want to deposit them somewhere where they would feel like a criminal. It wasn’t incredibly luxurious, not by a longshot, but it would at least be comfortable for the time that they would be keeping Horobi and Jin in custody. 

Horobi simply nodded in response, and Fuwa knew that they simply did not feel up to conversing at the moment. He unlocked the door, holding it open for them both to enter, then closed it firmly behind them and locked it once again. “If there’s anything you need, there’s an intercom. Feel free to use it. I’ll also see about getting you both some new clothes as soon as possible.”

Horobi nodded, guiding Jin to the small sofa and hooking him up to charge, his fingers lingering fondly on his son’s cheek, and Fuwa turned away, not wanting to intrude on their time together.

“Agent.”

Fuwa turned back when he heard Horobi’s voice. “Yes?”

“Thank you…for agreeing to be the one to interview Jin. You’re the only one I trust to leave him alone with.”

Before Fuwa could reply, Horobi’s attention had gone back to Jin, and he knew that he’d been dismissed. He went back to the interview room and gathered up everything he needed, knowing that he and Yua needed to compare what they’d learned from the Humagears, but at the same time, he didn’t want to think about what Jin had told him. Almost all of his life, he’d been exposed to violence and abuse, and it sickened Fuwa. Jin was an innocent who had been dropped into the middle of a seedy world. His voice had quavered when he described what had been done to him over the years, his eyes looking shinier than a Humagear’s eyes should. That had clearly been another modification to make him more appealing to the more perverted type of clients: making him look as though he were on the cusp of crying when he was upset or distressed. 

Nearly the entirety of Jin’s existence had revolved around sex, and he’d tilted his head in confusion, asking if he needed to thank anyone for his rescue. There was little doubt in Fuwa’s mind what the “thanks” would entail, and he quickly dismissed the notion. Oddly enough, though, he’d asked for Hiden Aruto, and said something about being his boyfriend, but surely Fuwa had misheard that. Or perhaps Jin’s battery was at a low enough point that he was beginning to get confused.

Fuwa did need to interview Hiden as well, though. He glanced at his watch; it would have to wait. He’d been lost in thought and was already ten minutes late in meeting Yua in the conference room. They’d each have to go over their notes and listen to the interviews, and plan courses of action to take from there.

It had been a long night, and it would be an even longer morning. He needed coffee for this, and if it made him even later for the meeting, Yua would just have to understand. He’d bring her a tea as a peace offering.

As Fuwa headed past the cell where Horobi and Jin rested, he paused, casting a quick glance in to make sure they were all right.

Horobi was stretched out across the length of the couch, a charge cable disappearing beneath his blond hair. And Jin was sprawled across him, cheek leaning on his chest, his charge cable almost obscured by his fluffy hair. Their eyes were closed as they charged in sleep mode, and they looked for all the world like two people who had simply dozed off on a couch, instead of two Humagears whose lives had been so greatly disrupted.

Fuwa prayed that he and Yua could get the ball rolling, that they could wipe out all of the Humagear brothels still in existence. He wanted everyone involved to wind up in jail, so perhaps Jin and Horobi could live their lives without fear.

When he finally arrived in the conference room, Yua was surprised at the determination she saw in his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Aruto knew he would have to go to AIMS and give his statement eventually, but when Fuwa had finally contacted him two days later, it had caught him off guard. Things had returned to dreary normalcy, and Aruto had begun to feel like that night had simply been a very odd dream.

He found himself thinking about Jin on occasion. How perplexed he’d looked when Aruto had rebuffed all of his clumsy advances. How he’d run across the parking lot to be reunited with the other Humagear that Fuwa-san had rescued from an entirely different brothel.

How he’d declared that, if Aruto really helped him be free, that he’d be his boyfriend.

Color crept up into Aruto’s cheeks, and he shook his head, trying to keep his attention on the meeting that he was attending. There were fewer attendees now, since several of the businessmen that had brought Aruto to the brothel in the first place had been arrested when the building had been raided. Aruto’s involvement in the case had, thankfully, been kept quiet; not to protect his virtue or anything, as Fuwa had explained. AIMS didn’t want anyone involved with the brothels to know that there was a human witness, at least not until they’d had an opportunity to interview him. It seemed they were nervous about any kind of retaliation, even if it were against someone as important as the young CEO of Hiden Intelligence.

When the meeting finally came to an end, Izu stepped up to Aruto and handed him a sheet of paper. “You have a message, Aruto shachou.”

“Oh…thanks, Izu,” Aruto replied, unfolding the paper and glancing at the contents. “No meetings for me tomorrow, huh?”

“I have already cleared your schedule so you will be free to speak to the agents at AIMS tomorrow.”

Aruto couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get to see Jin while he was at AIMS headquarters. He wondered if Jin even wanted to see him. Perhaps he’d already been forgotten by now.

_“If you weren’t lying…if Horobi really comes, and I can leave here…then I’ll be your boyfriend.”_

Aruto really hoped he hadn’t been forgotten so soon, but Jin had also been through quite a lot. He hoped that he was comfortable. He hoped that he had some other clothes besides the worn, threadbare ones he’d thrown on before the raid had begun.

“Izu, do you feel like going shopping with me?”

Izu regarded him with confusion. 

*

The next morning, Aruto showed up at AIMS headquarters fifteen minutes early, a bag from one of his favorite department stores clutched in his hands. He gave his name to the receptionist, who in turn paged Fuwa. Aruto barely had a moment to attempt to get comfortable on the hard plastic chair in the waiting room before Fuwa appeared, pausing to shake Aruto’s hand.

“I’m sorry it took so long for us to get back to you, Hiden-shachou. We’ve been busy with everything we’d already collected, and then the testimonies from Horobi and Jin…”

“You can just call me Aruto, it feels weird when people are so formal with me.” Aruto hesitated, then held up the bag he carried. “I, um…I didn’t know if they’d been given any new clothes yet. I know Jin’s looked really old. So I went and got them each a few things.”

Fuwa blinked, remembering that he’d told Horobi a few days prior that he would provide them with new clothes, and with everything that had been going on, he’d simply…forgotten. He cursed himself silently, feeling almost annoyed that this… _kid_ …had remembered something that he should have taken care of days ago.

“That’s…very generous of you, Hid…er, Aruto-san. Things have been so busy here…AIMS would be happy to repay you for the cost…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aruto said, looking almost embarrassed. “I wanted to do something to help them. In fact…that’s something I wanted to ask about, while I’m here. Do they have anywhere to go after AIMS finishes their investigation?”

Fuwa frowned. There was another thing he hadn’t begun to consider. “Not that I’m aware of. But there are also some legal issues we’ve had come up…namely, their lack of identification codes. They can’t really go anywhere if they aren’t registered.”

“I thought so. So…if it would help matters…I would be happy to take them both under Hiden Intelligence’s care. I can get them set up with identification. And…well, it would be safe for them in the building, rather than just leaving them on their own, especially if the case hasn’t gone to court yet.”

“That’s…true,” Fuwa mused. It would be a practical solution, since Hiden was known for their Humagear production. Ideally, Fuwa would rather they kept Horobi and Jin at headquarters until a court date could be set, but they simply did not have all of the evidence they needed yet. Since they’d both given their testimonies, and had both looked through the collection of mug shots—and both had identified Amatsu Gai as one of the men who had assaulted them before they’d been sent to the brothels—they needed to be processed and moved along to their next destination. Aruto’s offer made sense, but for some reason, it still irked Fuwa that he seemed to be several steps ahead of the game.

Finally, he shook his head. “This can be discussed at a later time, once we finish with your interview. If you’d like, you can give them the clothes before we begin.”

It took Aruto a moment to realize that he was being given permission to see the Humagears, and he nodded. 

They headed through the building, taking an elevator down several levels, and walking for what felt like forever, but then Fuwa stopped before what looked somewhat like a cramped studio apartment. Aruto realized after a moment that it was a holding cell, albeit a much nicer one than he’d expected to see, but then he saw Jin sitting inside, and their eyes met, and the smile that crossed Jin’s face was so unexpected and bright, Aruto found himself smiling as well.

“Oh! It’s you! Um…Aruto-san…right?” Jin asked, hopping up from where he’d been seated on the couch and coming over to the door.

Aruto saw the other Humagear, Horobi, lingering in the background, watching him very closely. “I, um…I brought some things for you two. Clothes, some books, a few magazines, things like that…I thought you might be bored…”

“Wow…this is for us? All of this?” Jin asked in wonder, peering into the bag. “Horobi! Come look!”

After a moment, Horobi came to stand at Jin’s side, still giving Aruto a curious look.

Jin took the bag over to the couch and upended its contents onto the cushions, laughing in delight. “Wow!” He gleefully held up a hooded sweatshirt, before rubbing his cheek against it. “It’s so soft…I’m gonna wear this!”

Before anyone could stop him, Jin stripped off the thin hoodie he’d been wearing, so he could pull on the new one. Aruto quickly averted his gaze, noticing that even Fuwa was looking away. 

“Jin, if you’re going to change, you shouldn’t be doing it in front of other people…”

“It’s ok, it’s ok! We all have the same parts, right? OH! I want to wear these, too!”

Aruto didn’t dare look to see what Jin had chosen, but he heard the sound of a zipper and the sound of denim rustling, so he knew it had to be one of the pairs of jeans he’d picked out.

“They’re…very tight-looking. You. Why did you choose such form-fitting clothing for him?” Horobi demanded.

Aruto looked at him in surprise, catching a glimpse of Jin in the new hoodie and jeans, and he knew his face was going red. The jeans were standard skinny jeans, and didn’t look to be any tighter than the ones Jin had been wearing previously, but…

“I…er…had to guess on sizes…I can get different ones if they’re no good…”

“Horobiiiii, it’s fine! I like them,” Jin declared, before pushing a bundle of clothing into Horobi’s arms. “Here. These will look good on you. Wanna try them on?”

Horobi frowned, but nodded. Instead of stripping as Jin had done, he stepped behind a folding screen, and they could hear the rustles of fabric as he changed. 

When he stepped back into view, Aruto smiled and nodded. Jin clearly had good taste; he’d chosen a soft grey sweater and another pair of jeans for Horobi. The jeans looked to fit about the same as Jin’s, and Aruto prepared himself for another scolding.

“They’re…nice. Comfortable. Thank you,” Horobi finally said.

“You’re welcome,” Aruto said, startled. 

Fuwa was completely captivated by the sight of Horobi in his new clothing, until he noticed that Aruto was looking at him curiously, and he quickly cleared his throat. “All right, we should get your interview out of the way, and go from there.”

“Aww…Aruto has to go already?” Jin asked, pouting. “Can he come back afterward? He’s Jin’s boyfriend, you know.”

The glare that Horobi fixed on Aruto was absolutely murderous. “You’re _what_?”

“I-I…”

“He helped Jin find Horobi again, so that makes us boyfriends!” Jin stated.

Aruto practically shrank behind Fuwa to escape Horobi’s disapproving glare. “Don’t we, uh, need to go?” he squeaked.

“That might be a good idea,” Fuwa agreed, escorting him back the way they’d come.


	6. Chapter 6

In the following days, Jin had managed to exhaust the entertainment that Aruto had provided. He’d flipped through the books and declared them boring. The magazines kept him entertained a bit longer, although Horobi had nearly lost his mind when Jin stopped to take a quiz in a rather trashy magazine about love and sex. Jin insisted on reading each question aloud, then answering it as if he and Aruto were dating.

Which they most certainly were _not_ , Horobi thought to himself. He didn’t even want the human to be anywhere near Jin, after his son’s declaration that they were boyfriends. He had scurried off rather quickly after that, along with the AIMS agent (Fuwa was his name, Horobi had recently learned), and Horobi hadn’t seen him since. “Good riddance,” he thought to himself. Even if Aruto had been partly responsible for saving Jin and reuniting them. He had better have deleted that photo that he’d sent to confirm Jin’s identity; that was the kind of trashy, inappropriate photo that only a pervert would enjoy, especially since Jin had looked so frightened.

“Let’s see…question number five…does he look into your eyes when you’re making love?”

Horobi sighed, laying the book on his chest. Why was Jin so fixated on this human? Was it simply because he had been instrumental in his rescue? At least he wasn’t lusting after that agent, Fuwa. There was something…strange about him. Horobi couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Several minutes passed, and the cell was quiet, and Horobi sat up and peered over at Jin, who had abandoned the magazine in favor of a box of crayons and a coloring book that had been in the bag. Apparently even adult humans used them, Horobi had realized upon examining the book. Something about being calming and therapeutic. Perhaps he should color a picture every time Jin mentioned Aruto.

They would need more coloring books at that rate.

At some point, Jin set aside the coloring book, and was instead doodling on a pad of blank paper. Passing behind him, Horobi sneaked a glance at the drawing, and paused when he saw himself and Jin smiling and holding hands, standing beneath an inexplicable rainbow with…were those rabbits?

“Ah! You can’t see it till it’s done!” Jin exclaimed, trying to cover the picture.

Horobi couldn’t help but smile, lifting a hand to ruffle Jin’s hair. “Sorry. I’ll leave you to it, then.”

He’d no sooner taken his seat on the couch and picked up his book, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and looked up to see Fuwa standing at the door.

“Oh, it’s Fuwafuwa-san! Horobi, look, it’s your agent!” Jin said, pointing, as if there were any way Horobi could have missed him.

“ _My_ agent..?”

Fuwa felt his cheeks go warm, and he cleared his throat, hoping no one would notice. “I just wanted to check up on the two of you. I’m sorry that you’ve just been left waiting like this…we’ve been working hard trying to get all of our information together so we can plan our next move.”

“There’s no problem. We have nowhere else to go,” Horobi said. “It’s…safe here, if nothing else.”

“I don’t know if you’d be interested, but…it’s New Year’s Eve. Just about everyone has gone home for the night, but Yua and I were considering having a little get-together. I’m waiting to hear back from Hiden-shachou to see if he’s able to attend…”

“Aruto’s going to come?” Jin asked, suddenly appearing at Horobi’s side. 

“Well…like I said, I’m still waiting to hear from him…”

Jin wasn’t listening; instead, he had grasped Horobi’s arm and was looking at him hopefully. “Can we go too? Please? I wanna see Aruto!”

“I don’t know if that’s wise…”

“Why? Come on…please, papa? Jin wants to do something fun!”

Horobi sighed. He truly didn’t want to encourage Jin’s fascination with this human, but at the same time, it had been days, and Jin was starting to go a bit stir crazy. Truth be told, Horobi would have welcomed a change of scenery. Even a walk up and down the hall would have been a treat.

Finally, he gave Fuwa a curt nod. “Very well.”

Relieved, Fuwa couldn’t help but smile. “Great. I’ll come back for you both…let’s see…” He glanced at his cell phone. “About an hour? Hour and a half? Yua was ordering food and said something about movies.”

“YAY! I’m gonna change!” Jin declared, racing over to the small chest of drawers where they’d stored their few changes of clothes and immediately started rummaging.

Horobi glanced down at his clothes, the same ones he’d changed into several days prior. Humagears did not sweat, and the clothes hadn’t gotten dirty…what was the point in changing?

“Papa! You too! You gotta look nice!” Jin stated, leaning over the back of the couch and grabbing the hem of Horobi’s shirt, before pulling it up.

“Jin!”

Fuwa turned away, that unexpected view of Horobi’s bare chest imprinted in his mind.

That would be a nice image to carry into the new year, he thought to himself.

*

About an hour later, Fuwa returned, and let them out of the cell. Jin had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into his appearance—and all without knowing for certain if Aruto would even be present, Fuwa thought to himself. He now wore a cozy-looking dark blue sweater and blue jeans, and a pair of black Crocs on his feet. His hair was a bit less chaotic than usual and was brushed away from his face, which was beaming with excitement at the prospect of seeing Aruto.

Horobi looked somewhat sullen, wearing a lighter blue button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans, and he’d opted to simply slip on a pair of black sandals. 

Fuwa didn’t know exactly why his heartbeat sped up upon seeing Horobi, but he hoped the Humagear wouldn’t be able to hear it. 

He led the two to a large conference room, which Yua had decided would be a perfect spot for their party. Fuwa had stopped at the 100 yen shop and gotten party hats and noisemakers. Yua had ordered them soba, and it looked like she had gotten a bottle of sake for the occasion. A television had been carried into the room, and some of the evening’s New Year programming was playing quietly in the background. 

“Aruto!” Jin exclaimed, practically running into the room when he saw Aruto seated at the table, throwing his arms around him. “I missed you a whole bunch!”

Aruto smiled at the admission, but upon seeing Horobi’s expression, he carefully disentangled himself from Jin’s embrace. “So, what have you been up to since I last saw you? Ah, you’re wearing more of the clothes I picked out!”

Izu sat at Aruto’s side, cheerfully observing, and Jin smiled and waved at her.

Fuwa pulled a chair out, then paused when he saw Horobi hanging back, keeping his distance from the group. “Are you all right?”

Horobi shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s just a bit loud.”

“Do you want to go back? I could escort you…”

“No,” Horobi replied immediately. “I want to keep an eye on Jin.” 

Fuwa nodded, then took a seat. Once they were all sitting down, Yua got to her feet, passing cups of sake to Aruto and Fuwa.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone here for your hard work, and the information provided. We’re making excellent progress, and I believe we’ve located another one of the brothels. One of the teams has been sent out to investigate. This will be three that we’ve shut down, if all goes well. That’s just one step closer to finishing it for good. We’re also digging into Amatsu Gai’s background, to try and find some concrete evidence linking Zaia Enterprises to the brothels.”

At the mention of Gai’s name, Fuwa saw Jin shrink a bit, his hand reaching out to grab Aruto’s arm. The young CEO looked a bit startled, but reached over to give his shoulder a reassuring pat, and Jin gave him a dazzling smile. 

Horobi, on the other hand, was tense, and seeing Jin so close to Aruto was clearly not helping matters. Fuwa didn’t dare try to comfort him; he felt like he’d lose a limb if he tried.

Yua lifted her cup, and Aruto and Fuwa followed suit. “Here’s to the progress we’ve made so far. Cheers!”

“Cheers,” Aruto and Fuwa murmured, and they all tossed back their drinks. Aruto looked as though he were about to start coughing from the strength of the alcohol, but Fuwa felt comforted by the slight burning as the liquid went down. 

They tucked into their meals, with Jin insisting that he help feed Aruto. Fuwa could practically feel the displeasure flowing off Horobi, but Aruto was behaving like a perfect gentleman, not making a move to touch Jin at all, not even when he showed him how to hold chopsticks properly.

“I think I _will_ go back, after all,” Horobi finally said, getting to his feet and turning to leave the room. 

“Horobi? Ah, wait a second!” Fuwa managed a final mouthful of his soba and finished his drink before he hurried to follow the Humagear. His head suddenly felt as though it were swimming, and he couldn’t remember how many drinks he’d had. He fervently hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself by passing out.

Horobi stopped at the end of the hall to wait for the elevator, which gave Fuwa a chance to catch up. “Hey…are you ok?”

“I am _not_ ok. Not while Jin is fawning over that…that HUMAN,” Horobi spat.

Fuwa blinked at the vehemence in his voice. “I don’t think he's in any danger, if it means anything,” he said, as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, and he hurried to follow Horobi in. “My guess is that he was getting bored, stuck in the holding cell. And he might idolize Aruto-san just a bit, since he got the help needed to free him from that brothel.”

“What do you know?” Horobi snapped. “Jin is my son. I couldn’t protect him before…and now, he’s just leaving himself wide open to be hurt again!”

Before Fuwa could even think of a way to respond, Horobi continued, “And you…you’re always looking at me so oddly. Why? What do you want from me?”

“N-nothing! I just…”

“Hmph.” Suddenly, Horobi was much closer than he had been, and Fuwa sucked in a sharp breath. “’Nothing’, you say. So if I were to kiss you right now, it wouldn’t affect you at all?”

Fuwa’s eyes went wide, and he felt his face grow warm. He opened his mouth to reply, and then Horobi’s lips were on his. It felt as if he’d forgotten how to operate his own body, and he sagged against the wall. Horobi’s body pressed firmly against him, keeping him from simply collapsing to the floor, and to his complete mortification, he felt his groin beginning to stir from the Humagear’s proximity.

Abruptly, Horobi ended the kiss, and he regarded Fuwa as if he were a pile of muck on his shoe. “Just as I thought. You humans are all only after one thing.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. “Thank you, agent, but I can find my own way back,” Horobi said, biting off each word sharply, before he turned and exited the elevator, heading back to the cell.

When the doors slid shut once again, Fuwa’s legs finally gave, and he sank to the floor, wondering exactly what the hell had just happened.


	7. Chapter 7

The sunlight shone past his blinds and directly onto his face, and Fuwa groaned, tugging the covers up over his head. 

After the incident with Horobi in the elevator, when Fuwa had returned to the little party, he’d gone right for the booze. He didn’t even know why; he wasn’t normally much of a drinker, especially not when he was upset or angry, but for some reason, Horobi’s words had made him feel awful.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d continued drinking, but eventually, Yua had shaken his shoulder to wake him up, and announced that she’d drop him off at his apartment.

And that was all he remembered, until that damn cheerful beam of sunlight had landed on his face.

For some reason, Fuwa was afraid to look on the other side of his bed. What if he’d continued making stupid choices last night and had slept with someone? As quickly as he had the thought, he dismissed it. He wasn’t interested in anyone, and he definitely wasn’t interested in casual sex.

That still didn’t keep him from peering over his shoulder, a heavy sigh of relief leaving his lips when he found the other half of his bed empty.

He fumbled for his cell phone, glad to see that it had been plugged in to charge before he’d passed out. There was a text from Yua that read _"Don’t come in before at least noon. If you haven’t sobered up by then, let me know.”_

Fuwa absently wondered what everyone else at the get-together had thought of him, morosely drinking the night away.

But it didn’t really matter in the long run, did it? No, what mattered was getting out of bed—as soon as the room quit tilting to the left—and getting some clean clothes, and taking a shower. Then, breakfast. Or just some toast, to soak up the alcohol. He needed to get his shit together and get back to work.

He fought his way out from beneath the covers, and made his way to his closet. He slid hangars around, retrieving a clean pair of slacks, and then reached into the darkness for a shirt, coming back with a powder blue dress shirt that he didn’t even recall owning.

He paused, staring at the shirt.

It looked so much like the one Horobi had been wearing the night before. The one that had fit him so nicely, with the first few buttons undone, showing the merest hint of collarbone…

And then, Fuwa was envisioning Horobi wearing just the shirt— _his_ shirt—with only a few buttons fastened to keep it from sliding off his body, showing him so much more of that tantalizing pale skin.

Fuwa sucked in a shaky breath, shaking his head in an attempt to get his thoughts back on track. Back on a strictly G-rated track. What the hell had he been thinking..?

He headed into the bathroom, getting the water going, before he stripped out of his pajama bottoms and stepped into the shower, sticking his face beneath the spray in an attempt to wake himself up and clear his thoughts.

“Fuwa-san…”

Fuwa sputtered, choking on some of the water as he yanked his head back, looking around. What the hell…why was he hearing Horobi? Why was he still seeing him in his mind, lips parted seductively, shirt slipping a few inches further down his shoulder?

Why was he getting hard from these ridiculous thoughts?

Then he was imagining Horobi’s lips sliding along his shaft, slowly taking it into his mouth, and Fuwa groaned. His fingers wrapped around his cock, slowly running from base to tip, hissing at how overly sensitive he was to the touch. His eyes fluttered closed as he envisioned Horobi’s fingers circling the base of his shaft, pumping him even as he sucked him off, his dark gaze lifting to meet Fuwa’s own…

A startled gasp left Fuwa’s lips as he came, his body shuddering as he leaned against the wall to recover.

What the hell had _that_ been about? 

And then he was vigorously scrubbing himself, as if trying to remove the fact that he’d jerked off to an unrealistic fantasy featuring a Humagear that he’d saved from an illegal brothel. Someone that he most definitely should not be fantasizing about!

“God, Isamu, you fucking idiot,” he growled to himself. “He was right, wasn’t he? All humans are after just one thing.”

By the time he emerged from the shower, his skin was red, but he felt one hundred percent sober, and one hundred percent guilty.

As he left his apartment, he threw the blue dress shirt into the trash.


	8. Chapter 8

Another two days passed. Horobi was thankful when another bag appeared at the door, with new books and magazines to keep them occupied. There was even a large sketchbook and some colored pencils, which he assumed were for Jin. 

Maybe that would keep him from mooning over that human, Aruto (even though he was most likely the one who had gotten these items for them). He didn’t hold much hope with that, not after he’d passed by Jin and glanced at his current drawing, and saw two figures that looked quite a bit like Jin and Aruto holding hands, with an array of colorful hearts floating over their heads.

Horobi sighed. He truly wished that Jin would give up on his odd fixation with the human. He’d also noticed that the agent, Fuwa, hadn’t been around recently. “Good,” he thought to himself. “I was right to call him out. Clearly he was only helping us because he wanted something in return. Disgusting.”

But was that really the case? He couldn’t help but wonder, being left alone with his thoughts like this while Jin happily doodled away. Fuwa had saved him from the brothel, and he hadn’t even waited for Horobi to do anything to him before calling for the raid. Horobi had trusted Fuwa with interviewing Jin. He was…nice enough, Horobi supposed, even if he acted oddly around them sometimes.

“What if it isn’t that he wants something from you, but he’s worried about how to approach you? How to interact with you? You _do_ have a bit of hatred of humans, after everything that’s happened to you, and rightly so. How many of them abused you? More than you can remember. But he seemed skittish when you were going to give him a blowjob, and he called to start the raid immediately. Someone who was more concerned with his own pleasure would have waited, don’t you think?”

Horobi scowled, silently cursing his own thoughts. He was fairly certain that Fuwa liked men; he didn’t sense disgust in the rejection at the brothel, but more that Fuwa hadn’t wanted Horobi to do something he wasn’t comfortable with. When Horobi had kissed him in the elevator on New Year’s Eve, Fuwa hadn’t pushed him away, and he’d definitely felt his body responding to it. 

“Why am I so concerned over this?” Horobi grumbled to himself. “It doesn’t matter. _He_ doesn’t matter.” He sat back on the couch, opening his book with such force that he cracked the spine.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door, and he glanced up to see Yua. “Sorry to disturb you both, but could you come with me?”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Where’s Fuwafuwa-san?” Jin inquired, looking up from his drawing.

“He and Hiden-shachou are meeting with our captain to draw up some paperwork. It does involve the two of you, so you’ll need to be present.”

Horobi frowned, setting his book down and getting to his feet. “What kind of paperwork?” he asked, suddenly wary.

“Aruto’s here?” Jin asked, smiling as he went to Horobi’s side.

“It’ll be simpler to explain it all at once. If you’ll both come with me?” Yua opened the door, gesturing for them to leave the cell.

Jin looked delighted at the prospect of seeing Aruto again so soon, but Horobi couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t like this secretive nature. And why was this other agent coming to get them, instead of Fuwa? He kept close to Jin, hoping that everything would be fine, but if they were being led into something strange, he was prepared to fight. He’d sacrifice himself if necessary, but he would not let anyone take Jin away. Not again. 

They eventually stopped outside of another conference room door, and Yua knocked softly, opening the door when she heard someone call out from within. Horobi went in first, intent on making sure that it was safe for them to be there.

His gaze settled on Fuwa, noting how his eyes widened ever so slightly, before he quickly averted his gaze, his cheeks a bit redder than they had been. Seated next to him was…

“Aruto!” Jin exclaimed, but Horobi caught his arm before he could go running into the room. He pouted, but made no move to break free.

There was another man in the room, a bit older than Fuwa, and Horobi had no doubt that he was the one in charge of AIMS. When they entered the room, he rose from his chair, which gave Horobi a rather good impression of the human, because how many of them would show a Humagear respect like that? 

“Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to be here today. Please, have a seat,” he said, gesturing at the two empty seats between Fuwa and Aruto.

Horobi’s eyes narrowed. This seemed…suspicious, as if they were being herded into a spot where they wouldn’t be able to escape.

Jin had taken a step forward, but Horobi hadn’t released his arm, and gave it a soft squeeze as if in warning. “We’ll stand, if you don’t mind.”

A confused look crossed the faces of everyone in the room, but Horobi simply stood his ground, doing his best to project a “get on with it” attitude.

“Very well. Now…I would personally like to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in this case. Your testimonies have been incredibly helpful and are giving us new information to consider. However, there are legal issues, in that neither of you have an identification code. I’m aware of the information behind your creations, and your scans were examined. Horobi-kun, you were correct in that some of the parts used for you and Jin-kun were from Humagears marked as missing or destroyed, several of them from Zaia Enterprises, but also a few Hiden-made ones. I understand that this isn’t your fault. But there is a law that all Humagears—legal Humagears—need to be registered, and that includes having a visible ID code. When this case goes to court, I feel it will stave off a lot of arguments if you’re both properly registered and marked. Otherwise, it’s entirely possible that a judge could dismiss your testimonies as unreliable. I’m sorry to bring this up so suddenly, but the sooner we can take care of this issue, the better. Your cooperation will go a long way.”

Horobi frowned. He knew this would be an issue. But so soon? He hated the thought of being marked with one of the identification codes. They always made him think of being branded, and if he was given one, then he was little more than property. He didn’t want to be owned by a human. Not after essentially being owned by one for his entire existence!

“Does…does it hurt?” Jin asked, his voice soft.

“Not at all,” Aruto said. “It only takes a few minutes. And you can choose where you want it. It just needs to be somewhere where it can be easily seen, like Izu’s.” He glanced at his assistant, who stood with her hands folded as always, her own ID code very prominent on her hand.

Horobi looked at Aruto. “Why are you here?”

“Hiden-san has very graciously offered to take you both in, after this case is closed. Of course, while the investigation is still proceeding, we’ll keep you both here at AIMS headquarters, for safety’s sake. You’d be well-guarded here. But once everyone involved in the brothels has been brought to trial and hopefully received lengthy jail sentences, you’ll be able to leave, and enter Hiden-san’s employ, if you so wish.”

“How very convenient,” Horobi whispered, under his breath. When he saw everyone in the room regarding him curiously, he shook his head. “I suppose we have no choice in the matter. If we don’t do as you say, then it all will have been for nothing. Isn’t that what you’re saying?”

“More or less. We simply want to make sure we’re covering all of the bases, so there are less loopholes for lawyers to try to exploit. We don’t want to chance any of these men getting away from the punishments they deserve.”

“Very well. But Jin and I will not be separated when we receive our ID codes. I don’t want to leave him alone with anyone,” Horobi stated. His eyes passed over Fuwa, trying not to register the hurt that he saw on the agent’s face.

“That’s fine. It’ll be quicker if you’re both in the same room. We could get them both done at the same time,” Aruto pointed out. “Izu, can you get that set up for them?”

“Certainly, Aruto-shachou.”

“Excellent. Now, you gentlemen can take some time to decide where you want your codes to be located. It just needs to be visible for scanning, so be certain to take your style of clothing into account.”

“When is this being done?” Horobi asked.

“If you both can accompany us to Hiden Intelligence, along with agent Fuwa, it can be accomplished this afternoon.”

“Eh? Me?” Fuwa questioned.

“Why does _he_ have to be there?” Horobi demanded.

“Agent Fuwa has been acting as your guard, has he not? I simply included him for security purposes,” Izu replied.

Jin looked at Horobi, his expression worried. “Papa?”

Horobi closed his eyes, giving himself a mental shake. He couldn’t lose his composure. He would be with Jin the entire time. It wasn’t the end of the world. It was only a small mark. It didn’t mean he belonged to anyone. He was still his own person. It would all be all right.

“I’m fine, Jin,” Horobi murmured, giving his hand a quick squeeze. “I…suppose we should go and get this over with.”

“I want you to pick where I get my code,” Jin said. He voice shook a bit, but he was trying his best to look brave. 

“Jin, it’s going to be on your body, you can choose…”

Jin shook his head emphatically. “Jin wants papa to pick. Because…because if I had one when you made me, you would have picked where to put it then, right? So…”

Horobi nodded, giving Jin a shaky smile. “All right. I’ll think on the way there.”

As everyone else began to file out of the room, Jin turned and hugged Horobi tightly. “Jin will be brave for papa.”

“Jin is very brave,” Horobi murmured. When they separated, he affectionately tousled Jin’s hair. “And papa loves Jin.”

Jin grinned. “Jin loves papa, too. Ah! Everybody left..oh, there’s Fuwafuwa-san!”

Horobi glanced toward the door, where Fuwa stood outside, waiting dutifully for them. Their eyes met for just a moment, before Fuwa turned away to hear something Yua had said to him.

“Don’t be mad at Fuwafuwa-san…it’s not nice. He’s your agent, after all,” Jin stated.

They exited the conference room, and began to follow Fuwa, who hadn’t turned to acknowledge them since that moment their eyes had met.

“No. He’s not ‘my’ anything.”


	9. Chapter 9

The ride to the Hiden Intelligence building was quick, quiet, and uneventful. Aruto had a company vehicle, so he and Izu were driven back separately, while Horobi, Jin, and Fuwa piled into the back of one of the AIMS transportation vans. 

Jin had gone back to retrieve his drawing materials before they’d left, and was busy doodling. Horobi merely sat, wrapped up in his own thoughts, not paying attention to Fuwa, who sat across from him.

When they arrived at the Hiden building, Fuwa escorted Jin and Horobi into the building. Izu waited at the reception counter while they received their visitor badges and clipped them on, then she led them to Aruto’s office.

It was odd, Horobi thought, seeing Aruto in his own office, a nameplate bearing his name sitting on the corner of his desk, a suit jacket hanging off the back of his chair. The human was young, but he was also in charge of this entire corporation. It was a bit unnerving; Aruto was in the same position of power as Amatsu Gai, and Horobi knew what _he_ was like. Aruto seemed kind enough, but what if that was simply a front? Did he want to register Horobi and Jin for less than innocent reasons? Would he try to take Jin away? He already seemed to be showing far too much interest in his son…

“Horobi?”

Horobi blinked, noticing that Fuwa and Aruto were looking at him, and he supposed he’d been too deep in thought to hear whatever they’d asked him.

“Papa? Are you ok?” Jin asked, concern plain in his eyes. “It’s ok. Jin will be right here with you the whole time. Right, Aruto?”

Aruto nodded. “Whenever you’re both ready, we can go into the next room and get this taken care of. It won’t take very long at all, the process should maybe fifteen minutes for each of you. Have you both decided where you want your codes?”

Horobi’s finger touched the side of his neck, far enough beneath the damaged area where his headset earpiece had once rested. “Will this do? It would be visible here, wouldn’t it?”

“That should be fine.”

“Then I want mine there, too,” Jin stated, looking at Horobi and smiling. “Just like papa. We’ll match.”

A small smile crossed Horobi’s lips, and he nodded. “Then…I guess we’re ready.”

Jin’s fingers grasped Horobi’s arm, equal parts excitement and nervousness on his face, as Aruto ushered them from the room.

*

Half an hour later, Horobi was looking into a mirror at the ID code that was now displayed on his neck. It wasn’t terrible, he supposed. He’d been a bit nervous at first, hoping that the human in charge wouldn’t be frightened off by his lack of a headset and the resulting damage, but also he simply hoped that he would not sustain additional damage. He barely thought about the soft purple glow emitting from the sides of his head, unless he happened to catch a glimpse of it in a mirror. His hair generally provided enough coverage for it to not be tremendously noticeable, and it had been covered by a clear silicone, so nothing foreign would be able to get into his inner workings and cause him damage. That particular service had seemed rather important to those in charge at the brothel; they hadn’t wanted their prize Humagear to suffer any further damage. Not that they’d cared about _his_ suffering. Not that they’d cared that one of their clients had ripped the headset right off his head. He’d spent an entire day wracked with spasms from the damage he’d sustained with the loss of his headset. He remembered little beyond that, until he’d been repaired sufficiently to be sent back to “work” without issue.

He pushed all of those unpleasant memories back, far back into his databanks, not wanting to dwell on them any longer. He wanted to check on Jin and make sure he was all right after receiving his own code—he’d gone first, wanting to show how brave he was, wanting to set Horobi’s mind at ease. But now, he was not in the room. It was just Horobi, Fuwa—waiting patiently in an area set up for guests—and the human who’d done the codes, who was busy packing up her tools.

“Where’s Jin?” Horobi asked, rising from his seat, his fist clenching when he noticed that Aruto was not in the room either.

“He went for a walk with Aruto-san, to see some of the building,” Fuwa replied.

“That little…” Horobi growled, heading for the door, looking both ways, trying to catch a glimpse of where his son and that damned human had gotten to.

“H-hey! You can’t go off alone,” Fuwa called after him, hurrying to catch up. “Jin is with Aruto…he’ll be all right. The security in the building is excellent.”

Horobi paid him no mind, heading down the hall, keeping his eyes open for any sign of Jin, or of that bright red hooded sweatshirt that Aruto had been wearing. If that human dared to try anything with Jin, he would regret it.

“Horobi. Look…hey, would you hold up for a second?” Fuwa asked. If it were anyone else, he would have tried to stop them, but he didn’t dare touch Horobi’s arm or shoulder in an attempt to stop him. The Humagear was already angry enough with him; he didn’t want to add to it. “I want to apologize for what happened on New Year’s Eve, in the elevator. I made you uncomfortable. I just…it’s hard to control how our bodies react sometimes. You caught me off guard with that kiss. It was…really nice…that’s why my body reacted like that. I promise, I had no intention of touching you, or…”

Horobi sighed in exasperation, before his gaze landed on something familiar up ahead—a gray and purple hooded sweatshirt that Jin had been wearing. Good…they weren’t that much further ahead. Just up the hall, they’d stopped to sit on a bench. They were sitting a bit too close, damn it.

“I hope that you can…”

“Shut _up_!” Horobi hissed.

“Huh? Did you hear something?” 

Horobi saw Jin, whose back had been facing them, start to turn, and he grabbed Fuwa’s arm and shoved him down the hallway to their left. Damn it…the idiot’s babbling had been loud enough to attract their attention! Horobi didn’t want Jin to think he was snooping, or being overbearing, but he still did not trust Aruto enough. Whose idea had it been to sneak off while Horobi had been lost in thought? Was Aruto trying to sneak off with Jin so he could kiss him? Touch him? Whisper meaningless promises to him, just to get sexual favors from him?

“Yeah, I thought I heard something too.”

Horobi heard two sets of footsteps coming their way, and he cast his gaze around frantically. There! He wrenched open the door beside Fuwa, pulling the human in behind him, and closed the door quickly but quietly behind them both. They’d unfortunately wound up in a small storage closet of some sort, probably where a janitor stored their cleaning supplies, Horobi deduced, feeling what seemed to be a broom handle poking against his back. He felt Fuwa shift, heard him draw in a breath—most likely to start spouting some further nonsense—and he pressed his hand firmly across the lower half of Fuwa’s face, effectively silencing him.

“Huh? Nobody’s here,” Jin’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Maybe it came from somewhere else? It’s a busy time of day here,” Aruto said.

“Sorry…am I keeping you from your work?”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m the CEO, so I can take a little break. Izu can take a message from anyone looking for me. So…what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I wanted to give you something.”

Horobi tried to move closer to the door, trying to hear them better, silently cursing Fuwa’s presence. He’d made enough noise to give them away, and now he was between Horobi and the door…and, it seemed that Aruto and Jin were moving further away. Damn it…he needed to know what was going on!

Fuwa made an alarmed sound from behind Horobi’s hand, his own hands scrabbling at the one that was still firmly planted over his mouth and…oh. In his haste, Horobi had also covered Fuwa’s nose. Right. Humans needed to breathe.

When Horobi’s hand moved away, Fuwa sucked in a lungful of air, sagging weakly between Horobi’s body and the door. That had been close; he’d been starting to think he was about to pass out before Horobi had finally let go of him.

Horobi reached past Fuwa to grasp the doorknob, intent on getting out of this tiny closet and continuing on his quest to find out what Aruto was up to with his son. But instead of simply opening, the knob turned endlessly, and the door stayed shut. He could have forced it open quite simply, but Fuwa was in the way.

“These damn humans..!”

Horobi gritted his teeth. This had become such a disaster. They were trapped in this damn closet because the damn door wouldn’t just _open_ , this damn human was blocking him in, not to mention the damn human was leaning against him in the tight quarters, still struggling for breath.

It was all serving to piss Horobi off. Where had Jin and Aruto gotten to? What was that human trying to do with his son?

Fuwa sagged a bit more heavily against him, his breathing still rough, and something in Horobi snapped.

He shoved Fuwa firmly against the door, his lips pressing against the human’s own, which were still parted, and he thrust his tongue into Fuwa’s mouth, enjoying the startled sounds he made. His knee slid between Fuwa’s legs, their thighs sliding against one another, and Fuwa whimpered into the kiss again.

Or had that sound come from Horobi’s own throat?

For some reason, this was appealing to him, and he didn’t know why. If there had been more room for them to move in here…god, he didn’t want to think about it.

His hand pressed against the front of Fuwa’s slacks, feeling him stir beneath the touch, and that time, the soft sound of pleasure had definitely come from Fuwa’s throat.

Horobi continued rubbing the front of Fuwa’s slacks, feeling him hardening rapidly beneath his touch. It was different, being in control like this, he thought to himself. He was more familiar with simply laying back and letting degenerates do whatever they pleased to him, but this? It was so much more thrilling.

He wanted to fuck Fuwa.

His lips left Fuwa’s, hearing him suck in a surprised breath at the loss of contact.

God…he was becoming like _them_ , wasn’t he? Like every human that had come to his room at the brothel, with the intention of simply taking what they wanted from him, whether he wanted it or not.

He pressed his palms against the door, not trusting himself to touch Fuwa.

“Horobi?”

The soft, questioning voice was nearly his undoing, but Horobi refused to be ruled by his dick. 

Fuwa moved closer, and then Horobi felt his lips brush against his neck. Against his freshly acquired ID code. And god, that touch sent such a jolt through his body!

What was happening to him??

It took great effort, but Horobi gently placed his hand on Fuwa’s chest and pushed him back. “Don’t. Please. Just…”

Fuwa froze, hearing Horobi’s breath catch. What the hell had he been thinking? Horobi made him forget how to think straight, and it was becoming something of a problem. He’d just apologized for his reaction in the elevator, and now here he was, even harder than he’d been that day!

“I’m sorry. I…I’m sorry,” Fuwa whispered, willing his traitorous body to calm itself.

Horobi pressed his palms a bit harder against the door, and it finally popped open, nearly spilling Fuwa onto the floor. Once there was room to maneuver, Horobi hurried past Fuwa, and was gone.

Thankfully, no one else was in the hallway, and Fuwa was able to take a seat on the bench where they’d seen Aruto and Jin not that long ago. He closed his eyes, struggling to breathe slowly and evenly, and soon he felt as though he were back to normal.

His body was back to normal, perhaps, but his mind was a snarled mess of thoughts and feelings that he needed to sort through. The sooner, the better.


	10. Chapter 10

By the time Fuwa returned to Aruto’s office, everyone else was present, and he felt relieved. If they hadn’t returned here, he had no idea where he would have looked.

“Fuwafuwa-san, you’re back! Did you get lost?” Jin asked. “This building is huuuuge!’

“Yeah, it sure is,” Fuwa agreed, his gaze resting on Horobi for just a moment, not at all surprised that he seemed to have gone back to ignoring him. He still wasn’t sure what, exactly, had happened in that storage closet, but he felt as though he’d gone back several steps in his…friendship? Relationship?...with Horobi.

This was a mess, and he didn’t know how to go about fixing it. He couldn’t apologize for his body responding forever, especially when this time, Horobi had very certainly been trying to coax a response out of him. And god, had he gotten one. Fuwa couldn’t help but wonder what, exactly, Horobi had been planning to do next, had they continued. Even though there hadn’t been much room to move in that storage closet, Fuwa felt certain that he would have dropped to his knees if Horobi had asked him to.

This revelation made his face grow hot, and he quickly looked away from the others, bringing a hand up to rub his neck as he tried to bring his thoughts back to the present. “So…we’re done here, right? I should bring them back to AIMS.”

“Aww…already?” Jin asked. “Can’t we stay a little longer?”

“I’m sure Aruto-san has to get back to work,” Fuwa replied.

“I can walk you guys out, at least,” Aruto offered. “A few more minutes is no big deal.”

Jin grinned, taking hold of Aruto’s arm, and Fuwa saw a shy smile cross the young CEO’s lips. Huh. Maybe he was just a smitten as Jin was. Not that it was any of his business, though.

Aruto led them to the elevator that led to the parking garage, and they silently rode down. Jin admired the scenery through the glass walls, but Horobi stared out rather sullenly. Fuwa sighed inwardly, sending Yua a text that they would be waiting in the garage in five minutes.

The doors slid open, and they filed out of the elevator, Fuwa leading the way to the spot that he and Yua had decided to meet. He glanced at his watch; she should be there any moment now. 

Horobi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footfalls echoing in the otherwise quiet garage. Two…no, three sets. Humans, he thought; a Humagear would be much lighter on their feet. He looked around, not trying to be obvious about it. There—coming out of the shadow of a larger vehicle. These men didn’t look like they belonged at a building like this. 

He saw one of them reach beneath his jacket, and in a moment the butt of a gun was visible.

Everything happened in a matter of seconds.

“Jin!” Horobi shouted.

Jin looked away from Aruto, following Horobi’s gaze, and he sprang into action, quickly giving Aruto a shove so he fell beside a car, hopefully out of the line of fire. Ducking down, he yanked a hubcap off a nearby car’s tire, and flung it as hard as he could at the man who had been drawing the gun, like the world’s most deadly Frisbee. The force of the impact nearly severed the man’s hand, and his screams echoed in the garage.

“You little bastard!”

Fuwa looked up from his watch, his eyes widening as he reached for his own gun.

Horobi ripped a speed limit sign out of the concrete, swinging it with all of his might at the next man, who was foolish enough to try to charge them. It was like swatting a very large horsefly; the man went flying back and then crumpled to the ground, either unconscious or dead. Horobi wouldn’t waste time finding out, not while another one of them was still on his feet, posing a threat.

The third man simply opened fire, and they all scattered. Jin shoved Aruto further into the sea of cars, hoping they would provide adequate coverage to keep him safe, and he looked around, trying to find something he could use to fight back.

And he ran into the first man, one bloody hand dangling uselessly at his side, even as he raised the other, gun held at the ready. 

A shot rang out, and Jin saw Fuwa nearby, his own gun drawn, and the man staggered, blood seeping across his shirt, but he did not go down. He lifted the gun again, and just before he fired, Jin tripped and fell, which saved him from being fatally damaged. As it was, the bullet caught him in the upper arm as he was going down, and he cried out in surprise.

Then Fuwa was grappling with the man, trying to subdue him, or at least get his weapon away from him. There was another muffled shot, and finally, the man collapsed into a heap. But before Jin could react, Fuwa slowly crumpled, landing on his side.

“Fuwafuwa-san..?”

Horobi had managed to subdue the last man, figuring that one living assailant was enough for the police to question. He’d used the metal of the sign to secure the man to a concrete post, not caring if it was uncomfortable or if he lost a limb. As long as he could talk, that was all that mattered.

“Papa!”

Horobi looked around, still on high alert. Was there still a threat? He took off, his eyes darting around, suspicious of every shadow, until he finally saw them. 

Aruto was on his cell phone, yelling for an ambulance, even as he tied a handkerchief around Jin’s arm, which was leaking blue blood. Jin’s eyes were wide and frightened, and Horobi followed his gaze to…

Fuwa had managed to roll onto his back, and the knife that had been stabbed into his abdomen and viciously ripped out was clearly visible, laying on the ground beside him. Half of his shirt was stained with his blood, and as Horobi watched, he coughed some up, splattering the top of his shirt with even more red.

“Fuwa!”

Horobi barely recognized his own voice as he yelled Fuwa’s name, hurrying to drop to his knees beside him. God, there was so much blood, and it wasn’t stopping! He pressed his hands against the wound, trying to staunch the flow, hearing Fuwa gasp in pain.

“An ambulance is on its way! Hang on!” Aruto shouted. “You need to get here _fast_ , he’s already lost a lot of blood!”

“You idiot…what did you do? I could have taken care of them without sustaining much damage. You could die!” Horobi yelled, watching more blood bubble up past his fingers.

“Jin…was in danger,” Fuwa gasped.

“Don’t talk. God…just…” Horobi trailed off, yanking his shirt off and wadding it up into a ball, before pressing it against the wound. “You can’t die! Fuwa…”

A weak smile crossed Fuwa’s lips, and his hand weakly rested on Horobi’s leg. “I wish…I’d let you give me that blowjob…back then…”

As he finished speaking, his hand slid from Horobi’s leg, landing with a soft thud on the ground.

“Fuwa! _FUWA_!!”


	11. Chapter 11

The ambulance had come screaming into the parking garage just moments after Fuwa had stopped moving, followed by the AIMS van. Yua had rushed over to where everyone was gathered, her eyes wide with shock when she saw Fuwa, bloody and motionless.

“What happened?” she demanded, having to raise her voice over the sirens as a police car came to join the existing chaos.

“Those men…I guess they were laying in wait. I didn’t see everything, since Jin pushed me behind the cars for safety,” Aruto said.

“They were going to hurt us,” Jin said, his voice shaking and eyes wide, hand still clamped over his bound wound. “They had guns. Papa and I tried to take care of them since we can’t get hurt as bad as humans. But that one…” He nodded at the nearest body. “He wanted to hurt Jin…and then Fuwafuwa-san was fighting with him, and…and he got hurt…”

Aruto placed his hand gently on Jin’s arm, not wanting to startle him, but he wanted to offer _some_ sort of comfort, or support. But Jin seemed oblivious, his eyes on Horobi as one of the paramedics gently moved him from where he’d remained kneeling beside Fuwa, his fingers still clinging to his ruined, bloodsoaked shirt.

“Papa…” Jin stepped away from Aruto, going to Horobi’s side, kneeling beside him and touching his arm, careful to stay out of the way of the paramedics as they moved Fuwa and loaded him into the ambulance.

That touch seemed to bring Horobi back to the present, and he turned his head to regard his son, inhaling sharply when he saw the handkerchief secured around his arm. “You’ve been hurt.”

“It’s not bad. If Fuwafuwa-san hadn’t come when he had…” Jin saw Horobi’s expression look distressed, and he clamped his lips together, not wanting to say anything further that would upset him. He helped Horobi to his feet and led him over to where Yua and Aruto were speaking with the police.

It felt like forever, but once they’d given their statements and Aruto had been escorted back to his office, Yua and the Humagears loaded into the van and returned to AIMS headquarters.

“I need to repair Jin’s arm…is there somewhere in the building where that can be done?” Horobi said, breaking the silence as they were led back inside.

“We do have a small station for repairs. If there’s anything you need, I can call someone in…”

“No. I will do the repairs myself.”

Yua nodded, showing them to a room filled with tools and things needed to do basic repairs on a Humagear. Horobi rummaged around, finding everything he felt he’d need, then gestured for Jin to sit. He unwound the handkerchief from Jin’s arm, then took a moment to assess the damage after Jin had shrugged his sweatshirt off.

It was an easy enough fix; the bullet had passed through cleanly, so Horobi set to making certain that Jin’s entire arm operated as it should, before patching the wound and adding a new covering of artificial skin to the area, until it looked as though Jin’s arm had never been damaged in the first place.

Jin looked at his arm, unable to tell where the wound had even been. “Wow,” he breathed, then tugged the hoodie back on. “Thank you, papa. Now, you gotta take care of yourself.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re all messy. And you don’t have a shirt!” Jin stated, then looked at Yua, who stood beside the door. “Can we take baths here?”

“Oh…of course. There’s a facility on the next floor down. I’ll call ahead and make sure it’s empty, so the two of you can relax.”

Jin gave her a grateful smile, and they headed back to retrieve clean clothes from their room, before Yua escorted them to the bathing area that appeared to be for the use of agents who were pulling all-nighters. It was spacious, and quite empty, which suited them just fine.

Jin couldn’t help but worry as he watched Horobi shed his remaining ruined clothes. He’d been acting…well, almost robotic since Fuwa had been taken away. Jin didn’t like seeing his papa in such obvious distress. He deserved to be happy! They _both_ did!

Jin shucked his clothes, sighing in disappointment as he added his torn, bloodstained hoodie to the trash bag Yua had given them for any clothing that needed to be disposed of. He’d really liked that hoodie. Aruto had given it to him, and it was so comfy! But with the blue blood staining it—not to mention the bullet hole—Jin knew it was beyond saving. And even if it could be salvaged, just looking at it would remind him of that skirmish in the parking garage. 

He’d been scared, mostly for Aruto, since humans were so much more fragile than Humagears. Aruto wasn’t an agent like Fuwa; he was a human who did most of his work sitting at a desk, so his combat skills were probably non-existent. Jin had been proud of how quickly he’d acted, though—if he and Horobi hadn’t been there, it could have been very scary indeed for Aruto and Fuwa.

But if they hadn’t been there…would the men have been there either? They had definitely come with the intent to hurt Jin and Horobi, or worse. But who had sent them? The brothel owners? How had they figured out where they would be? Were they safe, even now?

Horobi scrubbed his skin, perhaps a bit more vigorously than necessary. He didn’t want to see the blood any longer. He needed it _off_. It had dried and smeared all over his hands, arms, and upper body, and Horobi kept seeing himself pressing his shirt against Fuwa’s stomach, hearing his struggle to breathe, feeling an all-too human emotion he hadn’t felt in years.

Fear.

Fear of losing someone precious.

Once he’d cleaned himself of any blood or dirt, Horobi stepped into the large communal-sized tub, settling into the warm water and drawing his knees up to his chest.

Some time passed before Jin joined him, sinking down into the water with a blissful sigh, then glanced at Horobi’s still form. “Papa?”

Upon closer examination, he saw Horobi’s shoulders shaking slightly, and he reached out to lay a hand on one. “Papa..?”

When Horobi looked up at him, Jin felt his eyes tearing up. Horobi’s normally stoic expression had crumbled, and although Humagears could not cry, it was entirely obvious that if he were able to, Horobi would have been sobbing.

Jin scooted closer, holding his arms open, and Horobi wordlessly moved into the embrace, his head resting on Jin’s shoulder.

“Papa…he’ll be ok, right? Fuwafuwa-san is strong, and stubborn…and he’s gotta guard us! He’s your agent!”

“He’s…not…” Horobi argued half-heartedly, his words trailing off into a choked sob.

Jin simply continued to hold him, rubbing his back in an attempt to soothe him. “Nope…Jin definitely thinks he _is_.”


	12. Chapter 12

The day Fuwa was released from the hospital was bitter cold, with sporadic snow showers throughout the afternoon. 

Jin and Horobi had another day planned at Hiden, so Izu could see about reconnecting Horobi to the Humagear network. The loss of his headset, not to mention the incredibly illegal situations surrounding his life, had kept him isolated, but he’d agreed when the option had been offered. Jin had yet to make a decision, but he wanted to tag along; mostly for safety’s sake—Horobi didn’t want to leave Jin alone unless it was with Fuwa or Yua, but he still preferred to keep his son by his side—but also so he could spend a little time with Aruto.

Yua got Horobi and Jin loaded into one of the vans, and they made their way carefully to the hospital. The weather was far from treacherous, but the sudden snow squalls caused dangerous driving conditions which, thankfully, seemed to make everyone err on the side of caution while making their way to their destinations. 

They pulled up in front of the hospital, and a short time later, an orderly wheeled Fuwa out. It had been almost a week since the incident, and Fuwa looked weary and drawn, but he was alive, and that was what mattered.

The few steps Fuwa had to take from the wheelchair to hoist himself into the van seemed to tire him more than expected, and he managed to buckle his seat belt before leaning his head back against the headrest. He didn’t think it was possible to feel this terrible for such a duration, but even after the bedrest, after his wound had been stitched closed, he still felt so weary. It may have just been from the lack of activity, mixed with the painkillers he still had to take to dull the pain that still flickered across his abdomen.

But he was alive.

Yua glanced over at him before she pulled back out into traffic, beginning the slow journey to Fuwa’s apartment. “Are you going to be able to get to your apartment? I never even considered the stairs…”

“I’ll manage,” Fuwa said, but his voice sounded drawn even to his own ears. He could handle the stairs that led up to his apartment. Probably. It might take him a few hours, but he could manage.

“I could escort him to his apartment,” a voice said from the backseat, and Fuwa’s eyes shot open. He didn’t realize that Horobi—and Jin, he assumed, since they were rarely separated—had accompanied Yua on this trip. It made sense for their safekeeping, but…god, his thoughts felt so damn foggy from the painkillers.

“Are you sure? I could always help him up,” Yua began.

“I’ll be fine…” Fuwa weakly argued.

“He may provide to be too much for a human to safely handle, especially if stairs are involved. If all else fails, I can simply carry him up,” Horobi continued.

Wouldn’t that be a sight, Fuwa thought to himself; a neighbor looking out their window and seeing Fuwa being princess-carried by a Humagear up the flight of stairs. “I said…”

“Fuwa. You were stabbed, and you’ve been in the hospital. It doesn’t make you weak to accept help every once in a while,” Yua said, her voice soft as she focused on the road.

Fuwa sighed, his eyes fluttering closed. “Fine.”

It took a bit longer than anticipated because of the weather, but they finally pulled up in front of Fuwa’s apartment building. Horobi exited the van and opened the passenger door, and Fuwa practically oozed out of the seat until his feet met the pavement. 

Horobi’s arm went around his waist, giving him something sturdy to lean into if needed, and Fuwa felt heat creep up into his cheeks. 

It took some time, and a few stairs from the top, Horobi simply hoisted Fuwa up until they’d reached the landing, knowing that he had reached the end of his strength.

“Which one?” Horobi asked, and Fuwa pointed wordlessly at his door. “Keys?” Horobi added, and Fuwa fumbled in the pocket of his jacket, silently cursing the loss of his winter coat, as he’d been told it had been soaked with his blood. At least Yua had brought his spare workout clothes from his locker at AIMS, but it wasn’t enough on a day like today, he thought, shivering against Horobi as the Humagear inserted the key, unlocking the door and swinging it inward.

Then they were inside, and Fuwa drew in a deep breath. Home. It wasn’t much, but he’d missed it. He wanted a hot shower and coffee more than anything, but he knew either of those were beyond him right now. More than the warmth and the familiarity, he wanted sleep. It seemed incredible, after so much bedrest, that he could possibly _still_ feel tired but he felt it down to his bones. The painkiller was definitely kicking in, he thought to himself, unable to keep from leaning heavily against Horobi.

At least he’d waited till they were inside, Fuwa thought to himself, as he felt Horobi lift him into his arms, no doubt intending on depositing him in his bed and then going on his way.

Then Fuwa felt the welcoming softness of his bed, and he could have wept. He heard a few muffled thunks, and even though his eyes were closed, he knew it was his dresser. What was Horobi doing? Getting him clothes to change into? It was a wonderful thought, but far beyond his limits at the moment.

He felt the jacket being unzipped, and gentle hands managed to work the garment off, even though Fuwa couldn’t assist. His T-shirt was drawn up and carefully pulled off, before the hands moved to his sweatpants.

This was nice, Fuwa thought dreamily. It had been a long, long time since someone had undressed him.

He waited for clothing to be slid onto his naked body, or for the covers to be drawn up, but nothing happened for several minutes, and Fuwa opened his eyes, wondering if Horobi had simply left, his mission complete.

But no…he was leaning over Fuwa, his eyes on the evidence of his wound, and before Fuwa could react, Horobi leaned in and pressed his lips gently to his abdomen, his fingers brushing against Fuwa’s hips. He drew in a shaky breath, and Horobi lifted his gaze up to regard him.

Everything seemed to take on a dreamlike quality as the painkillers fully hit his system, and at the same time, Horobi’s fingers moved along Fuwa’s shaft, and a soft moan left his lips as he began to stir under the touch. Then Horobi lowered his head, and Fuwa felt his length sliding past his lips, and god, he couldn’t remember ever being quite _this_ hard before. He felt the head of his shaft hit the back of Horobi’s throat, and he mewled in pleasure.

God…was this real? Was this really happening? 

His fingers grasped the sheets as Horobi set his pace, and far sooner than he would have liked, he came down Horobi’s throat with a low groan, tumbling into darkness as his consciousness finally left him.

Horobi drew back slowly, then set to work, tugging a pair of flannel pajama pants onto Fuwa, before pulling the covers up to his shoulders. He placed the bottle of Fuwa’s painkillers within easy reach and, as an afterthought, retrieved a glass from the kitchen and filled it with water. Fuwa seemed weak as a kitten; he didn’t need to worry about stumbling around for water. Horobi could do that much for him, at least.

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned down, his lips brushing softly against Fuwa’s. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For protecting Jin.”

*

“He’s been gone a while…I hope there’s not a problem,” Yua murmured, glancing at the time. Had Fuwa fallen and hurt himself further? Was Fuwa being stubborn, and they were arguing? 

Jin barely spared a glance from the picture he was drawing. “Maybe papa gave him that blowjob.”

The inside of the windshield was suddenly sprayed with a thin coating of Yua’s latte.


	13. Chapter 13

Aruto pushed aside the last of his paperwork, uttering a deep sigh at the thought of finally being _free_ for the day! Well…as free as he could be, while still being at work. He could look a few things over while Jin and Horobi were here.

Speaking of Jin…Aruto opened one of his desk drawers, and withdrew the small sketchbook from within. Jin had given it to him the day he and Horobi had gotten their ID codes, and Aruto felt embarrassed that he hadn’t had a moment to look through it until now.

He opened the sketchbook, smiling as he passed page after page of brightly colored drawings, all done by Jin himself. His drawing style was simple, just slightly more advanced that stick figures, really, but Aruto could tell that Jin took a lot of joy in creating the colorful images. There were a few drawings of rainbows, there was one of Horobi reading a book and Jin in the background drawing, one of a field of flowers. Some of them featured Jin and Aruto, holding hands, standing under a shower of brightly colored hearts.

Jin really was cute, Aruto thought to himself, turning the page.

A yelp alerted Izu, and she turned to see Aruto staring at something on his desk, his face bright red. “Aruto shachou, is something the matter?” she asked, taking a step closer and glancing down at what had captured Aruto’s attention.

“I-Izu, is this..?”

“It appears to be a artistic depiction of you engaging in sexual intercourse with Jin-kun. I believe this position is most commonly referred to as ‘doggy style’…”

“Ok, ok, that’s enough, thanks!” Aruto squeaked, closing the sketchbook and placing it back in the drawer, before burying his face in his hands. Geez…he hadn’t been expecting that…he had to make sure this stayed hidden, god forbid Horobi saw that picture! 

God forbid Horobi found out that Aruto wouldn’t be against doing exactly what that picture had shown.

Aruto shook his head frantically, trying to dislodge every thought he was having. He had no intention of doing anything with Jin. Jin had just gotten out of an awful situation, and even though sex had been the norm for most of his life, he didn’t have to do anything like that anymore. Was he still looking at Aruto in an idol worship kind of way? Fuwa had said something about Jin asking if he needed to thank someone for being freed…Aruto truly hoped that wasn’t the case. If Jin had a nice, innocent—well, maybe not so innocent, based on that drawing—crush on him, well, that was one thing. Feeling that he was obligated to sleep with Aruto was another thing altogether. 

“Life is complicated,” Aruto sighed to himself, then slapped his cheeks. “Ok! Izu, can you get these documents to the right departments? I’m going to try and get a bit more done before they get here.”

“Certainly, Aruto shachou.”

*

Horobi wondered why the atmosphere in the van seemed so strange, as they made their way to Hiden. There was a smeared mess across the inside of the windshield, and when he’d asked about it, Yua had said something about losing her grip on her latte. How it had fallen up and forward was beyond his understanding, but Horobi wasn’t about to press matters.

He’d actually done it. 

It had been a moment of weakness, he knew that. He’d truly only intended to get Fuwa into clothes for suited for resting and relaxing, but when he’d come face to face with the wound…the wound he’d gotten from getting between Jin and an armed man…he’d placed himself in danger, even after Horobi had been treating him so poorly..!

He’d remembered Fuwa’s foolish words before he’d passed out, and he hadn’t been able to help himself. He hadn’t been obligated to give Fuwa a blowjob, but he had chosen it of his own free will, and somehow, that had made it so… _so_ much more enjoyable.

If circumstances had been different, if Fuwa hadn’t been weak as a kitten, Horobi had wanted to do more. That had never happened before. He’d tolerated what he’d been forced to do at the brothel, simply because he feared for Jin’s safety. He’d never once been eager to suck someone off, to climb onto their dick afterward and ride them as hard as he could, but…

“Papa?”

Horobi pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned to regard Jin. “Hmm?”

“Did Fuwafuwa-san like the drawing I made him?”

Horobi laughed softly. He’d left the drawing on Fuwa’s bedside table, so he could see it when he woke up. He’d honestly been very proud of himself for not forgetting it entirely, after he’d kissed Fuwa so gently. “He fell asleep right away, but I left it where he can see it.”

Jin made a soft sound of acceptance, then grinned. “I hope he likes it. Maybe more than the blowjob you gave him!”

Horobi’s eyes went wide, and he didn’t notice as Yua yanked the steering wheel to get them back into the correct lane, tires squealing slightly

All he could think was _“How the hell does he know??”_

“I heard him say something about it that day,” Jin continued, “so I thought you’d give him one. That’s why you offered to take him up, right? So you could give it to him in private? I don’t know what it is, but it must’ve been really important.”

Horobi hadn’t made a sound, and Jin looked at him, blinking when he noticed his ear lights flickering wildly. “Papa..?”

“There has been an unexpected error. Rebooting,” Horobi said in an oddly garbled voice, before he powered down.

“Wahh! Papa! What happened?” Jin wailed.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?” Yua asked, glancing quickly at them in the rearview mirror. “Did he just shut down? Hold on, I’m pulling over.”

By the time Yua pulled the van over safely and flicked on the hazard lights, Horobi was booting back up. _“Presented by Zaia”_ echoed in the van’s narrow quarters, and Horobi’s eyes opened once again, blinking a few times before they came back into focus.

“Papa! Are you ok now?” Jin asked, his voice full of concern.

“We’re almost at Hiden…should I call ahead and have someone meet us outside?” Yua asked.

“Is it about the b—“

Horobi’s hand covered Jin’s mouth before he could finish speaking. “Please do not mention that any further for the time being, Jin.”

Jin made a muffled sound from behind Horobi’s hand, and Yua couldn’t help but look at the Humagear suspiciously. Had something really happened in Fuwa’s apartment? Was that why he’d offered to bring him inside? 

“Can we continue on to our destination now? I’m quite all right.”

Yua nodded, making her way back into traffic, and just a few minutes later, they’d arrived at Hiden Intelligence.

Jin’s hand crept up to Horobi’s arm, holding onto him tightly, and he suspected that Jin was remembering what had transpired last time. He couldn’t blame him…he figured any time they wound up in this parking garage, they would inevitably think less than pleasant thoughts.

But everyone important had survived, and that was what mattered, Horobi thought to himself, stepping out of the van with Jin in tow, following after Yua as they headed for the elevator.

After the doors had closed, a sleek limousine with tinted windows came around the corner, carefully following the appointed speed limit. When they came to a stop, the driver tapped his Bluetooth headset, waiting for someone to answer at the other end.

“Please call ahead to Hiden-san’s office and tell him that Amatsu-san would like to meet with him at his soonest possible convenience.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that Zaia-built Humagears say "presented by Zaia" when they boot up, as opposed to the "taking off toward a dream" that Hiden Humagears do. Jin might not do anything when he boots up since he's not strictly a Zaia Humagear, but I haven't decided yet.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some of Jin's memories of what Gai did to him, so I'm slapping a warning for brief mentions of rape/noncon for this chapter. Even though I have the warning for this series in general, I'd prefer to let folks know to expect it.

By the time they’d reached Aruto’s office, Jin had finally let go of Horobi’s arm, and seemed to be acting more like his usual self. Horobi was proud that Jin didn’t immediately run up to Aruto and start fawning over him; rather, he seemed to realize that this was Aruto’s place of work, and that type of behavior might not be appropriate.

“Oh, welcome!” Aruto called out when they entered the office. “Izu’s in the lab, she’s got everything set up for you, Horobi-san. I just need to run down to the cafeteria and grab something for lunch, but I won’t be gone for very long. Oh, Jin-kun, I have crayons on my desk for you, if you want to draw while you’re waiting?”

Jin’s smile was nothing short of dazzling, and Aruto couldn’t help but smile back. He’d bought the crayons on his way to work, when he’d stopped to buy bread and milk tea for breakfast, and there had been a small display of school supplies near the cooler. They weren’t anything fancy, but judging by Jin’s reaction, it was as if someone had presented him with something incredibly precious. But perhaps it was simply having the ability to pass the time drawing, when he’d spent so long locked away in that room with nothing to do all day.

Aruto directed a quick bow at them both, before he left the office, and Izu stepped up to Horobi. “Are you ready to begin, Horobi-san?”

Horobi nodded, then turned to Jin. “Will you be all right? You could come sit in the lab as well, if you’d prefer.”

“Nah…it doesn’t look comfy in there,” Jin replied, going to sit at Aruto’s desk, taking a moment to spin the chair in a circle, before coming to a stop and picking up his new box of crayons—a gift from Aruto, no less!—he settled in to draw some nice new art. “I can keep Aruto’s seat warm for when he comes back.”

A small smile crossed Horobi’s lips, but he left Jin to his drawing, and followed Izu down into the lab.

“I will need to do a cursory check of your system before I attempt to connect you to the network, in case there are any other issues that need resolving,” Izu stated, picking up a cable.

Horobi nodded. “I’ll allow it, but anything that may or may not need resolving needs to have my permission before you proceed.”

“Of course.”

Horobi took a seat, and he felt Izu carefully plug the cable into his damaged ear port, before he went into sleep mode.

*

The receptionist at the front desk at Hiden Intelligence looked up as someone in white breezed past the desk, and she stood up. “Excuse me! Sir! You need to check in and get a visitor badge before you’re allowed…”

The man turned, as if confirming that he was the one being spoken to. “I-I’m sorry, sir, but you need to…”

“Nonsense! Come right in, sir!” a jovial voice said from nearby, and the receptionist saw the vice president scurrying up, holding his hand out to the Zaia CEO. “It’s been some time since we’ve seen you here at Hiden, sir!”

Gai accepted the handshake, his usual small smile on his lips. “Fukuzoe Jun-san, correct?”

“Yes, sir! Please excuse our receptionist…she’s new, and I suppose she hasn’t heard of you. You know how kids are…”

“It’s quite all right. These things happen,” Gai said with a flick of his fingers.

“What brings you to Hiden today, sir?”

“I was hoping that I could take a few moments of your CEO’s time. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with him,” Gai answered smoothly.

“Oh. With _him_? Sir, I would be happy to assist you in any way I can…”

“But then your charming CEO won’t get the real world experience he needs for his position, don’t you agree? I’m certain you could take care of any issues on your own, of course, Fukuzoe-san. I meant no offense,” Gai continued.

“Oh, none taken, Amatsu-san!” Fukuzoe replied with a bark of laughter. “But you’re right about Hiden, he _does_ need some real world experience. I’ll see you up to his office.”

As the two men headed off, the receptionist picked up her phone and dialed the extension to Aruto’s office. It would serve them right, if Aruto had some advanced warning and was able to dazzle those two fools.

*

Jin put the final touches on his drawing and held it up, smiling. It showed him and Aruto, holding hands and kissing each other. He’d wanted to draw them in the snow, but…well, it wasn’t really easy to draw snow! It was all white! And so was the paper! In the end, he gave up and drew what he thought was a rather stunning field of flowers. And across the bottom, he’d written “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” He wasn’t sure what had made him write that, but Aruto _had_ been very kind to him and Horobi. AIMS was starting to get bogged down in cases, so the time that they would need to move on was rapidly approaching. Aruto had asked them to give him a few days to set up accommodations for them at Hiden, but he was keeping his promise to take them in and keep them safe.

Just then, the phone on Aruto’s desk rang, and Jin jumped about a foot out of the chair. “That scared me!” he huffed, glaring at the device.

Izu glanced up from where she’d just removed the cable from Horobi’s ear port, and he was coming back online. She touched her own headset, diverting the call from the telephone. “Hello, Hiden Aruto-shachou’s office.”

“Oh, good afternoon, Izu-san,” the receptionist’s voice replied, echoing off the lab walls. “Listen, Fukuzoe-san and a guest are coming up to try and catch Hiden-san off guard, so let him know, if you would?”

“Aruto-shachou should be returning momentarily. He stepped out for his meal break.”

“You might want to call his cell, then, because the guest is Amatsu Gai.”

The crayon fell from Jin’s fingers.

Amatsu Gai.

It had been so many years, but he could still feel the man’s fingers in his hair, cruelly forcing his cock further into Jin’s mouth. His mocking laughter while Jin has screamed the first time he fucked him. How he’d had someone hold him down and watch him do the same things to Horobi. How he’d pulled Jin out of Horobi’s arms, dragging him out of the small assembly room, the only home he’d known, to take him to the brothel.

A wordless cry of fear left Jin’s lips and, clutching his drawing, he dove beneath Aruto’s desk.

“Jin!” Horobi shouted, even as Izu connected to Aruto’s phone and pressed the button that would seal off the lab once again.

“What are you doing? Jin is still out there! Jin, please, come here. Papa will protect you. Hurry!”

Jin curled up into a tighter ball beneath the desk. “No no no no no no…”

Horobi headed for the stairs, but before he could reach them, the wall closed, effectively sealing him in the lab with Izu. “Open it. Open it NOW!”

“Aruto-shachou? It would be in your best interests to return to the office immediately. Fukuzoe-san and Amatsu Gai are heading this way,” Izu stated, her voice calm as she relayed everything to Aruto.

“Jin is still out there! Dammit, Hiden…you’d better get back here, and you’d better keep that bastard from finding Jin, or I will break you like a twig!” Horobi shouted, but despite his words, he looked terrified.

They could hear Aruto’s footfalls as he began to run, before he hung up.

*

Aruto rounded the corner just as Fukuzoe was reaching for the handle on the office door. “Ohhhh! What perfect timing!” he said, his voice unnecessarily loud, hoping to either startle the pair into stopping for a moment, or for Jin’s hearing to pick up the fact that he’d returned. 

Horobi needn’t have threatened him; he’d already been prepared to do what he had to in order to keep Jin from being detected.

“ _So_ sorry I couldn’t have come down to greet you, Amatsu-san! Could have saved you the whole trip up to the nosebleed section!” Aruto said, taking the man’s hand and shaking it vigorously. “Fukuzoe-san, thank you for showing him up, I’m sure you have plenty of other things on your busy schedule.”

“Well…yes, of course I do,” Fukuzoe stammered, completely baffled at this odd way that Aruto was acting. 

“I do appreciate you taking the time to see me up, but now that Hiden-san has arrived…”

Fukuzoe nodded; he knew a dismissal when he heard one. He felt a bit nervous leaving such an important man alone with Aruto, who was a bumbling oaf on his best days and a blithering idiot on his worst, but…well, perhaps if he offended Amatsu, that could speed up the process of removing him from the CEOs seat, vacating it for Fukuzoe himself.

The thought put a smug smile on Fukuzoe’s face as he headed back to his work.

Aruto took a deep breath, hoping that things were going to be all right in his office, and he reached for the door handle, opening it just a bit as he said, “Come in, come in, I’m afraid I only have just a few minutes to spare today. Very busy. Lots of paperwork. You know how it is.”

“That I do,” Gai agreed. “Your secretary isn’t present today?”

“Oh, no, she is. She’s just bringing some documents to other departments for me,” Aruto replied.

Oh shit…thanks to the gap at the bottom of his desk, it was very clear that someone was hiding under it, and he had to make sure Gai didn’t see.

Maybe—and it made him sick to consider this, but—he could keep Gai’s attention on him.

The short set of stairs that led from the door to his office proper had never felt so long, he thought. He was attempting to keep Gai from looking past him into the office, and he was certain he’d wound up weaving around like a drunk. Plus, he’d tried his best to keep his ass right at Gai’s eye level, hoping that it would provide a satisfactory distraction on its own. 

Apparently one of these things had worked in his favor, since Gai did not seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, at least until he looked at the items scattered across Aruto’s desk and raised an eyebrow. “Crayons?”

“Oh…yeah. You know, sometimes you get a little stressed and just need to…draw a picture. It helps me think outside the box, you know?” Aruto said, scooping up the crayons and depositing them in the box, setting them aside. 

“You’re acting a bit…odd, Hiden-san,” Gai finally said.

Aruto managed an awkward laugh, suddenly very glad that he didn’t have any extra chairs in the office. He did _not_ want Gai to linger any longer than he absolutely had to. “W-well…I mean…it’s not every day that a guy gets to meet the Zaia Enterprises CEO! Maybe…I’m a little nervous, I suppose, Amatsu-san,” he said, stumbling over his words as he shifted to stand directly in front of his desk, hoping that would be enough to hide Jin.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. Or so formal. Gai is fine. After all…we’re practically in the same business, aren’t we?” 

Before Aruto could reply, Gai moved closer, and Aruto found himself backed up against the edge of the desk. _“Hey, hey, there’s something called personal space!”_ he thought to himself frantically. 

“You’re still so young, though…inexperienced,” Gai purred, his hand reaching out to rest on the desk beside Aruto’s left hip. “You surely have a lot you haven’t learned yet. I would be willing to teach you what I can.”

A soft whimper echoed in the room, and Aruto had to fight to keep his expression from changing.

That had to have been Jin.

“What was that?”

“Eh? What?” Aruto said, a nervous laugh leaving his lips. “Well…I mean…you’re getting so close…”

“Does that bother you?” Gai purred, the hand that had been on the desk moving slightly to cup Aruto’s ass.

It took everything he had to keep from screaming, but Aruto managed more of that fake, nervous laughter, and pushed away from the front of the desk, crossing around behind it, suddenly wanting to get _something_ between him and the disgusting human being on the other side. Did that shit actually _work_ on people? How many sexual harassment lawsuits were pending at Zaia? 

Then he felt Jin’s fingers scrabbling across his leg, clinging to him like a lifeline, and he could feel the Humagear trembling against him.

“Sorry…um…was there a reason you stopped by today, Amatsu-san?”

“I’d just heard rumors that something had happened here recently. Some sort of…incident in the parking garage? One of my office staff was heading home and saw police cars.”

Ah, so he was fishing for information. But why?

Then it hit Aruto with bone-chilling certainty: Gai had sent those men to intercept the Humagears. Clearly he hadn’t known that Aruto had been involved at all—his name had been kept from any kinds of reports or publications about the brothel or the incident in the parking garage—so that meant Gai had to have been quite literally gunning for AIMS or the Humagears.

But how had he known they would be there?

“Well…I don’t know if I’m allowed to say much about it. Police confidentiality and all that. I’m not even really certain myself, I’d already gone home for the night. Maybe it was just a mugger who got desperate and figured ‘big company, big wallets’ and did something stupid.” Aruto trailed off with a shrug. “It’s always so quiet here. But I brought in extra security just so everyone feels safer.”

Was it just his imagination, or did he notice a slight frown on Gai’s lips? It only lasted for a moment, and the Zaia CEO shrugged. 

“Well. I’m glad no one was hurt,” he replied, then glanced at his watch. “Oh dear, I seem to have taken up more of your time than I’d planned. I’ll leave you to your work, and get back to my own.”

He began to turn to leave, then paused. “The offer I extended earlier _does_ still stand.” When Aruto stared at him blankly, a small smile crossed Gai’s lips. “Teaching you? I do have considerably more experience in business than you do…and a little collaboration couldn’t hurt, don’t you think?”

Aruto nodded, forcing a smile onto his lips. “I’ll definitely think it over. It’s…a very generous offer, Amatsu-san.”

“Gai, please.” He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrawing a crisp business card, and handed it over to Aruto, making absolutely certain to let their fingers brush together. “Whenever you make a decision, don’t hesitate to give me a call. That’s my personal line, as well as my office.”

“Thank you,” Aruto said, bowing.

Gai gave a little dip of the head, then headed for the door, letting himself out.

Aruto waited what felt like an eternity, certain that Gai would come back in, would go right back to making very skeevy innuendos, but the clock on the wall said it had only been five minutes.

Aruto sagged onto his desk chair, and when he looked down, he met Jin’s terrified gaze.”It’s all right…he’s gone,” he murmured. “You can come out now.”

“I can’t.”

“Huh?”

“I’m…stuck.”

Aruto pushed the chair back, getting down on the floor next to Jin, trying to not notice how huge his eyes were, how they had that glistening sheen to them, how he still shook like a leaf. “Hmm…I know it’s tight quarters under there, but I don’t see how you could be stuck.”

“Jin can’t move,” he whimpered.

“Shh…it’s all right. Let me see…” Aruto ran his hands around beneath the desk, then made a small sound as he felt the fabric of Jin’s hoodie hanging onto something. “There we go…there’s a nail or something. Just one more minute…you were very brave, Jin.” 

“That man hurt Jin, and papa. He was so close to you…Jin didn’t want to hear him hurt you, too,” he whimpered, a soft sob leaving his lips.

Aruto finally untangled the fabric from the nail, and Jin all but flew out from beneath the desk, his arms going around Aruto, and their lips abruptly met. 

Jin’s arms went around Aruto, hugging him close, and Aruto froze. He wanted to return the kiss, but…did he dare? Would Horobi come crashing through the wall and tear him apart?

Finally, he decided that if it happened, he’d be fine with it. His arms tightened around Jin, letting him control the kiss, hearing the small sound of surprise he made deep in his throat.

Aruto’s cell phone rang, and with an almost herculean effort, he gently disentangled himself from Jin’s limbs, taking a moment to calm himself before he answered. 

“Aruto-shachou? Is everything all right? Horobi-san is becoming very anxious.”

“Yeah…everything’s fine now, Izu. You can open the lab up,” Aruto replied.

When the wall had slid open far enough for him to squeeze past, Horobi burst into the room, hurrying toward Aruto’s desk. “Jin!”

Jin’s arms were wrapped around Aruto, and he was half in his lap, as if he were trying to get as close as possible to something that would take his mind off that close encounter with Amatsu Gai. And Aruto’s arms were around Jin, one hand rubbing his back gently, whispering to him that it was all right, he was safe, that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. Sitting on the floor beside them was a slightly crumpled sheet of paper with one of Jin’s drawings on it.

Aruto’s gaze flicked up, and he looked nervous for a moment when he saw Horobi standing there.

“You kept him safe,” Horobi murmured, crouching beside Jin and running a gentle hand through his hair, but even so, his son kept a tight grip on Aruto.

Maybe this human wasn’t so bad, after all.


	15. Chapter 15

It felt like it had been months since the incident in the parking garage, but in reality it had only been a few weeks, and Fuwa was finally allowed to go back to work. He wouldn’t be going back out into the field just yet, he knew that for a fact; his doctor had insisted he only be allowed to do light duty work until his stitches came out, and then if he was healing properly, he could take it slow until he was back to his usual workload. He had to use a crutch on occasion as well, as he’d wound up spraining his ankle when he’d fallen, and it still felt tender at times. Using the crutch was frustrating and slowed him down, and he wanted to simply get rid of it, but then he knew he wouldn’t heal properly, and he’d have a lot of explaining to do to his doctor.

He took a cab in that morning, not wanting to bother Yua to come pick him up, and he definitely didn’t feel up to driving himself just yet. Traffic was good, and he wound up arriving earlier than anticipated. After stowing his jacket and getting a cup of coffee from the vending machine, he gulped the hot brew down, then decided he should check in with Jin and Horobi.

It was strange…he’d had the most vivid dream after Yua had brought him back to his apartment, after he’d left the hospital. He recalled that Horobi had brought him up to his apartment, but he must have fallen asleep when his painkillers had kicked in. And then he’d had the most wonderful, nonsensical dream, that Horobi had given him a blowjob. He’d woken up that evening with his pajama pants sticking a bit uncomfortably to his groin, so he had concluded that it had been a wet dream. 

And he couldn’t help but wish it had been real. It had _felt_ real. When he’d woken up, he could have sworn he felt the lingering trace of a kiss that had been pressed to his lips, but that was ridiculous. 

Fuwa made his way to the lower level where the holding cells were located, and headed for the one where Jin and Horobi were, feeling a bit eager to see them.

So it was understandable when he shouted in surprise, nearly falling over his own crutch when a feral Humagear threw itself against the bars when it saw him.

“What the fuck?” Fuwa sputtered. “Where are..?”

“If you’re looking for Jin-kun and Horobi-kun, they’ve been transferred over to Hiden.”

Fuwa glanced down the hall, where Yua stood, regarding him with an odd expression. “Already?”

“It’s been weeks, and more cases have been coming up. We needed the room. There have been more feral Humagears cropping up, and other people who need our help. Humans.”

Fuwa frowned, suddenly not liking Yua’s tone. “I never thought I’d hear you implying that Humagears don’t deserve help.”

“I never thought I’d hear _you_ being so supportive of them,” Yua stated coolly. “Maybe a bit _too_ supportive.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just suggesting that you shouldn’t let your personal life interfere with your professional one. Maybe it’s time to put some distance between you and them,” Yua replied. When Fuwa merely stared at her, his face a mask of confusion, she simply shook her head. “Anyway, the boss needs to see you immediately, so I’d worry about that first.”

Fuwa frowned, gripping his crutch as he made his way back to the elevator.

So far, nothing today was making sense.

*

“ _WHAT?!_ ”

“I said, you’re being removed from the brothel case, agent.”

“Why? I know it hasn’t been solved yet, or it would have been all over the newspapers and the internet.”

Fuwa watched his boss sit down, sighing heavily, and he eased himself back into his chair. His ankle was already beginning to ache from his trip down to the holding cells.

“There is…suspicion that you’re involved with one of the Humagears in the case.”

Fuwa felt his jaw drop, but he simply couldn’t think of what to say.

“You’re one of the most professional people I have working for me, and I hate to even consider that this is true, but it needs to be investigated. Until such time as the investigation is complete…you’re being suspended. I pulled some strings so you’ll still be paid, but you need to cooperate with the investigation, or you’ll lose your job. Do I make myself understood, agent Fuwa?”

Fuwa felt lightheaded, but he managed to nod his head jerkily. 

“We’ll be in touch if there’s any information we need from you,” he stated, and that was a clear enough dismissal for Fuwa.

He dragged himself to his feet, going back to his locker for his coat, and pulled it on, feeling completely lost. What was he going to do now? At least he would still be receiving his pay, but even if that weren’t the case, if something suddenly changed for the worse, he had enough saved that he could manage for a little while.

Involved with one of the Humagears. Who the hell would have spread such a rumor? True, there might have been…something between him and Horobi, but he was a puzzle. Most of the time, he simply ignored Fuwa’s presence. Had he babbled something stupid when he’d gotten drunk on New Year’s Eve, after Horobi had kissed him in the elevator? No; he highly doubted that was the case. 

He made his way outside, slowly, taking out his cell and calling a cab. It was barely 9am, and he felt as though he’d worked a full shift and aged ten years. 

When the cab pulled up, it was driven by the same man who’d dropped him off at work barely an hour prior. “Same address as before?”

Fuwa had been prepared to nod, ready to go back to his tiny apartment and hide in shame, but at the last minute, he said, “No. Take me to Hiden Intelligence, please.”

*

“Hiden-shachou, there’s someone at the front desk asking to see you.”

Aruto frowned, glancing at the calendar on his computer. No, he hadn’t missed any meetings. “Did they give a name?”

There was muffled background noise for a moment, before the receptionist came back on the line. “A Fuwa Isamu-san?”

“Oh! Of course, he can come up,” Aruto replied. Fuwa had apparently recovered from his wound; that was good news indeed.

Jin turned in the chair he was sitting in, seated before one of the desks in the lab. “Huh? Fuwafuwa-san is here?”

Horobi’s fingers twitched, but he said nothing.

“Yup! He’ll be coming up shortly,” Aruto replied.

“Yay! We haven’t seen him in a super long time! Right, papa? Since he left the hospital?” Jin continued, going over and putting his hands on Horobi’s shoulders. 

“That’s correct. He was busy healing from his wound.”

Jin frowned, his lower lip sticking out somewhat. “Papaaaa…you should be nicer to Fuwafuwa-san.”

“I am very nice to Fuwafuwa…to agent Fuwa,” Horobi replied.

Jin trailed off, and Horobi went back to his research, until he heard a soft knock at Aruto’s office door. The door opened, then closed, then he heard slow, awkward footfalls coming up the stairs.

Then he saw Fuwa for the first time in weeks, and he couldn’t help but simply stare at him for a moment.

“Fuwafuwa-san!” Jin exclaimed, jumping up from his chair and running out of the lab, up the stairs, and grabbing Fuwa in a tight hug. “Did you get Jin’s drawing? Do you feel better now?”

Fuwa gasped; Jin was much stronger than he looked, and he felt as though he was going to be snapped in half, or perhaps all of his stitches were going to shoot out of his body, one by one. 

“Jin, you’re going to injure him further,” a calm voice said from nearby.

Jin let go rather abruptly, and Fuwa drew in a few deep breaths, leaning heavily on his crutch, before he looked up to meet Horobi’s inquisitive gaze. “Uh…hey.”

Jin had already gravitated back to his drawing materials, and Aruto was finishing signing some documents, so Fuwa and Horobi were as close to alone as they were likely to be.

“You don’t remember, do you?”

Horobi’s soft question caught Fuwa off guard. What was with all of the weird occurrences and questions today??

Then he paused.

And he felt heat beginning to creep up his neck and across his face.

Oh shit.

It _hadn't_ been just a dream, had it?

Fuwa’s eyes widened, and he looked at Horobi, who still looked as damned composed as always. “You…you really…?”

“Yes.”

“Oh god,” Fuwa groaned, running a hand over his face. He suddenly felt like he had no energy left, and his ankle was screaming now, after the hike up to Aruto’s office.

There was suddenly a chair beneath him, and he was being encouraged to sit down, and somehow, this action brought everyone to a screeching halt in whatever they’d been doing, and Fuwa found himself surrounded, concerned questions coming from everyone.

He held up a hand, and everyone went quiet. He figured he should just get it over with. “As of this morning, I’ve been suspended from my job with AIMS.”

“What? Why?”

“That’s dumb! Who’s gonna protect us?”

Fuwa sighed. “I’m suspected of…having unprofessional relations with one of the witnesses in the case.”

Horobi’s frown deepened. 

“Huh? The only witnesses are…” Jin paused, pointing at himself, and then at Horobi. “ _Oh_! Is it because of the blowjob?”

Aruto’s face went red, Fuwa groaned and dropped his face into his hands, but Horobi just sighed quietly. “Jin…I asked you not to say that.”

“But…but you were giving him a present! Why is that bad?” Jin demanded.

“Jin…do you…not know what a blowjob is..?” Aruto finally asked.

Jin shook his head. “Nope. Something that papa bought for Fuwafuwa-san when he was hurt? I dunno…but it’s nice to give people things…so why is Fuwafuwa-san in trouble for it? And everybody reacts all weird when I say it! Like the nice lady at AIMS! She spit her drink everywhere!”

“Wait…nice lady? You mean Yua?” Fuwa asked.

Jin nodded. “Jin was waiting with her in the van while papa brought you to your apartment. I heard you say something when you were hurt about a blowjob…so I figured papa had gotten you one and gave it to you, and that’s why he was gone so long.”

Fuwa groaned, putting his face in his hands once again. “I died. I died, and I’m in some weird level of hell where you die from embarrassment for all eternity.”

“So she is the only other one who knew about this,” Horobi murmured. “The evidence points to her being the culprit.”

“But why?” Fuwa demanded. “We both belong to AIMS! It’s not like she’s out to take my job—she outranks me. It makes no sense.”

“This whole situation is very odd, if you ask me,” Aruto piped up. “If the two of you are witnesses in this case…wouldn’t they _have_ to keep you on site until a court date, or something? Especially after the parking garage incident. Oh, that’s another thing…Amatsu was trying to find out what happened that night. Fishing for information. My guess is that he sent those men, either for you two, or they were trying to take the AIMS guards out. Since Fuwa-san was injured, it’s entirely possible that was what they were going for. But who knew that you would all have been here that night, at that exact time?”

“The decision to do the ID codes that day was kind of spur of the moment…so just the four of us knew. And…” Fuwa trailed off. “Shit. I texted Yua when we were heading for the elevator, to come pick us up.”

“Then she is a traitor,” Horobi spat. “ _She_ should be losing her job, not you. _You_ were the one who nearly died in that attack, and you are the one being punished for it.”

Fuwa blinked in surprise at the venom in Horobi’s voice.

“There’s still no concrete evidence, though. Just our theorizing,” Aruto said, with a dejected sigh. 

“But we can look for information. I don’t know if I wish to trust AIMS any longer, to fight for our case. I am connected to the network now…I could see what I am able to find,” Horobi suggested.

“Ohh, that’s a good idea, Horobi-san! If you and Izu work together, then maybe…” Aruto paused, then trailed off. “I wouldn’t even know where to start. It sounds like hacking would be involved…wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Only if we were caught,” Horobi replied, a small smirk on his lips. 

“Well…maybe we should figure things out a bit more first. Have a more definite plan of attack. Because something definitely doesn’t seem right here. Fuwa-san, is it all right for you to even be here right now? If you were removed from the case…your former charges are staying here now. Won’t that get you into more trouble?”

“I don’t know. I’m hoping that maybe it’s just a bunch of bullshit, trying to scare me into just sitting in my apartment while more sketchy stuff happens right under our noses. No…I think it would be a good idea for me to keep coming here,” Fuwa mused. “It feels like someone is trying to keep you guys without a proper guard, and I don’t like that.”

“Well, I’m fine with it! I can get you set up with a special guest pass, so you don’t have to check in every single time. Less chance of you being noticed if you _are_ being watched. Worst case scenario, I can say that we hired you on as security. It’s not exactly a lie,” Aruto stated. “And if you need it, I can get a room set up for you. You look like you’re still in some pain, huh?”

“Yeah,” Fuwa agreed. “If it’s not any trouble, I would appreciate it, at least for today. Heading back to my place sounds like a bit much right now.”

“All right! That’s settled. I’ll get something ready for you,” Aruto stated, getting up and going to his computer, before making a phone call.

“Yay! Fuwafuwa-san will be staying here? Maybe you’ll be next to where me and papa are staying! Won’t that be fun?” Jin said, a wide grin on his face.

Fuwa chanced a quick look at Horobi, then flushed and looked away. “Yeah…fun.”


	16. Chapter 16

Fuwa seemed to be in a trance as he sat in the middle of the office, sorting through various things in his mind, trying to make sense of anything that was happening, especially his current suspension and the very startling possibility that Yua had a hand in it.

Aruto said something about getting the key for Fuwa’s room, and he absently heard him leave the office. Izu and Horobi were conferring quietly in the lab, presumably about how they would go about obtaining any information that could benefit the case, or shed any light on Fuwa’s suspension, or…anything useful, really. 

“Fuwafuwa-san~!”

Fuwa blinked, coming fully back to the present as Jin crouched in front of his seat and held out a sheet of paper to him. He managed a smile and a soft murmur of thanks as he accepted it; a new drawing, he assumed. He’d seen the one on his bedside table when he’d been released from the hospital, when he’d woken up later that evening. Jin certainly seemed to enjoy drawing, and Fuwa couldn’t help but feel touched that someone cared enough to make him a get well card.

He unfolded the paper, and was greeted by a drawing of himself and Horobi, holding hands beneath a large, colorful rainbow. And, across the rainbow’s arc, were the words “I hope you really liked papa’s blowjob!” 

Fuwa felt his cheeks burning; if this had been happening to someone else, it would have been amusing. Jin truly had no idea what the word meant, did he?

“Do you like it?” Jin asked, his voice eager, a big smile on his face.

Fuwa would have suspected that he was being messed with, that Jin knew exactly what the word meant and was just enjoying watching him squirm, but there was absolutely no evidence that that was the case. Jin didn't seem to have a malicious bone in his body. “Y-yeah. It’s…great. Thank you, Jin.”

“You should hang it up in your new room, so everybody can see it! Ok?”

Fuwa was saved from having to promise anything when he heard the office door open once again, and Aruto returned, holding up a keycard. Fuwa slid the drawing into an inner pocket of his jacket—because he definitely did _not_ need anyone else seeing that.

“All set! There’s a floor of suites at the top of the building for the higher-ups, and guests, in case of conferences or bad weather, things like that. I gave you one of those rooms, since they honestly don’t get used much, but they’re very comfortable. I made sure you have everything you need up there—toothpaste and soap and stuff like that. You can call down to the cafeteria if you get hungry, and your clothes can be sent out for cleaning. Oh…you’ll need pajamas or something.” Aruto took a small notepad out of his jacket pocket. “What size do you wear? It’ll just be easier to have someone get you new things, until you can get back to your apartment. Plus, if someone’s watching it, it’ll look weird if someone from Hiden shows up. It might be good to just keep a low profile for a few days, honestly, until we can try to sort out what’s really going on.”

Fuwa’s head was swimming, but he couldn’t deny that Aruto had a point. He rattled off his clothing sizes, and Aruto waved off his offer of payment. 

“Ok, that should be fine. If you think of anything else you need, let me know. Do you want to go take a look? Make sure I didn’t overlook anything? Then once you get back, we can try to figure out a plan of action.”

Fuwa nodded. He could at least drop off his coat in the room, and take one of the pills that had been prescribed for his ankle. 

The thought of hobbling to and from this room wasn’t very appealing, though, and it must have shown on Fuwa’s face, because Aruto turned toward the lab and called out, “Horobi-san, can you give Fuwa a hand up to his room and make sure he gets back ok?”

“Eh? No, that’s ok, I can…”

“Certainly,” Horobi said, coming over to Fuwa and hoisting him to his feet.

“Great! Thank you. Izu and I will be here with Jin,” Aruto said, then patted Fuwa’s shoulder. “Remember, if you need anything else, just write it down and let me know.”

Fuwa nodded absently, then he was following Horobi out of the office, surprised when the Humagear paused at the bottom of the stairs for him, instead of just continuing on his way as he surely would have done weeks ago. It was odd…and Horobi hadn’t sounded like he minded this menial task of taking Fuwa up to look at this room, and then bring him back. Horobi had even sounded angry about Fuwa’s suspension, which had surprised him more than anything.

This entire day was very strange, indeed, Fuwa thought to himself, but he was grateful that Horobi slowed down so Fuwa wouldn’t have to struggle to catch up to him. The rest in Aruto’s office had helped, but his ankle was still not happy with all of the walking he was doing, even with the crutch. He wondered absently if there was an ice machine on this floor; a cold compress on his ankle later, after everything was settled down, might be a very good idea indeed.

He paused to enter a note on his phone so he wouldn’t forget, and Horobi paused, waiting for him. They entered the elevator, which was blessedly empty, and Horobi pressed the button for the top floor, which seemed to require a code, which he punched in immediately.

“There’s a code, too? Hiden didn’t mention that…”

“He has unique codes for everyone who stays on this floor, to avoid any unauthorized visitors. When we return, you can tell him what you wish to use for yours,” Horobi stated.

They rode the rest of the way up in silence, and Fuwa couldn’t help but recall the last time they’d been alone in an elevator together, and what a spectacular disaster it had been. But today, Horobi seemed…quiet. Subdued, even. Was he busy thinking over everything they’d discussed in Aruto’s office? That had to be it.

When the elevator doors opened, Fuwa blinked. Were they still in the same building? It looked like a floor from a ritzy hotel…or what he thought such a thing would look like. At least he noticed plenty of security cameras, tucked away by gleaming light fixtures and dust-free fake plants, and he felt his shoulders relax somewhat. As long as those cameras were functional, and someone was watching—and, more importantly, would take steps if any unauthorized people showed up on this floor—then he felt much better about Horobi and Jin being at Hiden.

“Jin and I are using this room,” Horobi mentioned, pointing out one of the first doors they passed. “It is smaller than most of the rooms on this floor, but it has what we require. We don’t need to eat, but there is a small bathing area. It’s comfortable for charging for the evening.”

Fuwa nodded, then he noticed a small alcove, where there were vending machines—one with drinks, and one with snacks—and, most importantly, an ice machine. “Oh, good,” he murmured. “I hope there’s a bucket in the room.”

Horobi tilted his head in question, then followed Fuwa’s gaze to the ice machine. “I will take care of it for you, while you examine your quarters.”

Then they were standing in front of the door whose number matched the scrawl on the post-it stuck to the room key. Fuwa pressed it against the panel beneath the handle, and the light flashed green, and he turned the handle, pushing the door inward.

A light came on as he took a hesitant step in, and his heart rate increased as he fumbled for his gun—shit, he didn’t have it anymore! He’d had to hand it over before he’d left AIMS. Then he realized that it was simply a motion-activated light, presumably for ease of the businessman who would normally be entering the room, hands no doubt full with a briefcase, folders of documents, whatever he’d have on hand for an important meeting. Fuwa supposed it was a convenient feature.

Then his gaze wandered to the rest of the room, and he was simply speechless. It was as though he had, truly, entered a hotel room. It wasn’t incredibly over the top, but it was luxurious. The carpet was plush and pristine, and the armchair and couch he saw in the sitting area looked to be top of the line and comfortable. There was a small kitchen area with a refrigerator, a microwave, and a small coffeemaker on the counter beside the sink, stocked with a selection of coffees and teas. A trash can and recycling bin were tucked discreetly beneath the sink, and a short distance away, there was a table meant to be used as a desk, with a lamp placed in the corner. He noticed USB ports throughout the room, most likely for ease of charging one's phone, or for charging Humagear assistants, he supposed.

Horobi located the ice bucket, sitting beside the coffeemaker, and he ducked out to fill it, returning before Fuwa had even noticed he’d left, making certain that the door had clicked closed behind him.

Fuwa flicked on the bathroom light, noticing a small tray of assorted toiletries on the counter. Toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor, comb, soap, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, lotion, even a small bottle of mouthwash. Fresh linens were stored to the sides of the sink, towels folded neatly and washcloths rolled and stacked precisely. 

There was an adjoining door that led to the bedroom, and Fuwa turned the light on, his gaze lingering on the large bed. Oh, to simply crawl into it and go to sleep, and wake to find that the events of the day had been nothing more than a terrible dream!

He sighed softly, turning to leave the room, starting when he realized that Horobi was right there, a curious look on his face as he regarded Fuwa.

Then Horobi was stepping forward, his lips meeting Fuwa’s just as frantically as any of the past times he’d kissed him. His hands slid up and beneath Fuwa’s coat, pushing it off his shoulders until it plummeted to the floor, before doing the same with his suit jacket.

Should they really be doing this? Here? Fuwa pondered the thought for perhaps half a second, and then Horobi’s lips were on his neck, his fingers rapidly unfastening the buttons on his shirt and unknotting his necktie, letting both items fall to the floor. Fuwa sucked in a sharp breath as Horobi nipped at his neck, and his legs bumped into the bed, which Horobi eagerly coaxed him back onto, moving onto the mattress to straddle Fuwa’s hips.

“H-Horobi…” Fuwa gasped, his startled gaze meeting Horobi’s.

“This…it’s ok, isn’t it?” Horobi breathed, his body resting lightly on Fuwa’s lap.

Oh, god, _was_ it! Fuwa knew he should have stopped things, especially with his suspension looming over him, but he just couldn’t, not with Horobi looking at him like that, not with Horobi leaning in closer, his lips brushing across his own. His hands moved beneath Horobi’s shirt, drawing it up and over his head, before tossing it somewhere nearby, running his fingers over the Humagear’s skin.

A soft gasp left Horobi’s lips, and his hands stilled on Fuwa’s belt. This was…enjoyable. It was rare for anyone to take a moment to simply touch him; customers were always in a rush to bury themselves in him, and if they did touch him, it was to hurry him along to initiate a blowjob, or move him into the proper position that they desired for sex.

“Horobi?” Fuwa breathed, noticing how still he was. “What’s wrong?”

Horobi shook the unwelcome thoughts from his mind, before leaning in to press his lips gently to Fuwa’s own. “Nothing is wrong,” he murmured against his lips. “Everything actually feels _right_.”

A small smile crossed Fuwa’s lips, before Horobi’s met his once again, this kiss a bit slower and more passionate than every other time they’d locked lips. Horobi’s hands went back to working on Fuwa’s belt, unfastening it and his slacks, tugging the slacks and underwear down and working them off, along with his shoes and socks.

His fingers splayed across Fuwa’s chest, the kiss deepening. Fuwa truly was magnificent, he thought to himself, moaning softly as he felt Fuwa’s hands at his waist, as if asking permission to remove the last garment that laid between them both.

In response, Horobi moved Fuwa’s hands to the button on his jeans, hoping it would be all the confirmation that was needed. It was; seconds later, he felt Fuwa unfastening his jeans, slowly tugging them downward, and Horobi broke the kiss so he could easily wriggle out of them, kicking his shoes onto the floor, and tossing the jeans carelessly onto the mattress.

Horobi returned his gaze to Fuwa, who was staring at his groin with an expression of surprise. “What?”

“Are those…lights?”

Horobi nodded. “There are options to outfit Humagears with more…unique…genitalia. I suppose someone felt that lights along the shaft would excite people more.”

“It’s exciting me plenty,” Fuwa murmured, the trailed off, his face flushing.

A slow smirk crossed Horobi’s lips, and he filed that statement away for a later date. Would it excite Fuwa to watch Horobi work himself into his ass? To watch those intriguing lights disappear into him, one by one?

He groaned softly, then leaned in to kiss Fuwa again, more aggressively this time. Later. They didn’t have much time, not if they didn’t want to arouse suspicion, and he was determined to let Fuwa claim him today.

His fingers worked into the pocket of his discarded jeans, withdrawing the small bottle of lube he’d managed to sneak in with the items he’d purchased recently on an outing with Aruto and Jin, before they’d moved in to their new home at Hiden. He’d been almost thankful that Jin had attracted so much of Aruto’s attention that day, since neither had noticed his impulse buy.

Horobi squeezed a fair amount of the liquid onto his palm, before reached down to work it thoroughly over Fuwa’s shaft, hearing his soft pants and groans, even as he continued kissing him.

Horobi had never felt this impatient about fucking before today. Maybe, he thought to himself, as he worked a finger into himself in hasty preparation, it was because it wasn’t fucking. It was sex, sex that he was having for his own pleasure, with someone he cared about.

And he simply could not wait any longer for it.

Fuwa sucked in a shaky breath as Horobi began to lower himself onto his shaft, and his hands moved up to the Humagear’s hips. “W-wait…you need prep…” The lube that Horobi had worked along his length couldn’t be enough!

“Next time,” Horobi replied. “And every time after that. Right now, I just…I need you. I can’t wait any longer.”

Fuwa’s eyes widened slightly. ‘Next time’..?

Horobi slid himself down further, and they both moaned audibly. “Just…don’t let go of me, Fuwa.”

“Isamu. If we’re doing this…call me Isamu.”

Horobi’s lips met his, and there was suddenly no time for words. He continued working himself onto Fuwa’s length, bringing him in inch by inch. 

When he was completely buried inside Horobi’s body, Fuwa couldn’t help but groan in pleasure, his arms going around the Humagear’s waist, fingers caressing his back.

Then Horobi began to move, riding him as aggressively as he did everything else, and Fuwa had to concentrate on not exploding. He felt so good, and looked as though he were enjoying himself as well, his lips parted to expel soft moans as he moved. He leaned back, bracing his hands on Fuwa’s thighs, and Fuwa swore he was being pulled into him even deeper. His hands moved over Horobi’s hips, to his thighs, and one hand moved to his shaft, fingers trailing lightly over the purple lights that were interspersed along his length. He felt Horobi shiver at the touch, their eyes meeting for just a moment, before Fuwa began to pump him. God, he was close, so close! He didn’t want it to be over yet! But more than anything, he wanted Horobi to find release along with him.

It didn’t take long before Horobi cried out, and a few tiny splatters of cum landed on Fuwa’s abdomen. Just a handful of thrusts more were all Fuwa could manage, as Horobi’s body clenched around him, milking his climax from him.

They trembled in one another’s arms, and Fuwa carefully withdrew from Horobi, bringing him down to lay beside him, his fingers trailing along Horobi’s arm.

“You…didn’t cum very much,” Fuwa finally said. He hated to bring it up, not knowing if it was due to the fancy light-up dick, but…

“I was never allowed to,” Horobi replied, sighing when Fuwa’s fingers moved up to trail through his hair. “Our settings can be adjusted…no cum, a small amount, a normal amount, an obscene amount. I was there strictly to be fucked, nobody wanted a mess to deal with. I can count the amount of times I’ve been able to cum on one hand.” 

His gaze turned upward to meet Fuwa’s. “You. You were the only one that cared about my pleasure at all,” he murmured, his fingers moving up to trace along Fuwa’s jaw.

“Maybe…next time…I can focus on it a bit more,” Fuwa offered, his voice soft.

“I think I would like that, Fuwa. Isamu,” Horobi quickly corrected himself.

Hearing Horobi call him by his name filled Fuwa with such a warm feeling, and he couldn’t help but draw him in for one more kiss, his eyes remaining closed and his lips lingering on Horobi’s after they’d parted.

“We should return to Hiden’s office,” Horobi murmured.

“I know,” Fuwa breathed. “I know. Just…one more minute like this.”

Horobi made a small sound of agreement, leaning his forehead against Fuwa’s, closing his eyes and trying to save this feeling to his databanks. 

It was strange…he felt so warm.


	17. Chapter 17

Jin spun in another circle in Aruto’s desk chair. It was a little boring today, he thought. Everybody was worried about Fuwafuwa-san…and so was Jin! He didn’t entirely understand what was going on; all he knew was that it had something to do with the blowjob. Whatever _that_ was. He really should find out. Papa kept asking him not to say it, but why? What did it mean? Why didn’t somebody simply _tell_ him what it meant, or why he shouldn’t say it? 

“Izu-san!” Jin called, knowing that the other Humagear was in the lab. “What _is_ a blowjob, anyway? You must know, you’re connected to the network.”

“Ah…that would be the act of performing fellatio,” Izu replied, after a moment’s thought.

Jin rolled the chair over to the railing, frowning as he leaned his arms on it. “Jin doesn’t know _that_ word, either! Fe…fellatio? What is it? Food? Some kind of dessert?”

Izu tilted her head, clearly thinking of a different way to phrase it. After several moments of silence, broken only by the sound of her headset as she searched for the best response, she stated, “I believe the simplest way to define it would be: sucking dick.”

“OH! That’s what it means? Why such a big, weird word for it?” Jin wondered aloud, before his thoughts went to how he’d so carelessly tossed the word around in front of others. “Oh. Jin thought…it meant…something else. Like a sandwich or something.”

Jin sadly rolled the chair back to the desk, sighing as he leaned his chin on his hands. He’d sure gone and done something dumb, hadn’t he? But at the same time, he hadn’t really received much of an education on anything sex-related. He’d just been thrown into the brothel to be used, and people who came to visit him never used words like that. Most of them didn’t speak at all; they’d just push their cocks into his mouth, or ram them into his body.

Jin shook his head forcefully. He didn’t want to think about that stuff anymore! He wasn’t going back to that place. Never again. He wanted to stay here, with Aruto and Izu and papa and Fuwafuwa-san.

He hoped Fuwafuwa-san was going to be ok. He’d looked a little tired when he’d come in, and he was walking a little awkwardly from the wounds he sustained from the parking garage incident. Jin couldn’t help but feel guilty about that; Fuwafuwa-san had gotten hurt protecting him. But then again, if those bad men hadn’t shown up in the first place, then nobody would have gotten hurt at all! He was glad that papa was being nice to him, though, and had helped him upstairs. They would all be living on the same floor! Well, for a little while, anyway. Jin understood why Fuwa might be a bit hesitant to go back to his apartment when so many strange things were happening. Even if he wasn’t at his job, Fuwa clearly still felt some kind of responsibility for them, and that was really nice. It was a good feeling, knowing that there were a few humans who were concerned about their well-being and safety.

“And Fuwafuwa-san likes papa. Even Jin can see that.”

Maybe Jin would make Fuwa a new drawing. He felt bad, thinking back on the one he’d just given him earlier. He’d just wanted to give him a nice gift, but he’d still been carelessly tossing that word around, even though papa had told him not to. He wouldn’t blame Fuwa if he’d simply thrown it out.

Jin tapped the paper, then grinned. He had a good idea for a really nice drawing now! Maybe he could even get it done before papa and Fuwafuwa-san got back!

In his haste to get started, he bumped his elbow against a few of the crayons that had rolled close to the edge of the desk, and they fell onto the floor. A small sound of alarm left Jin’s lips, and he crouched down, trying to gather them all up so he wouldn’t lose any. Was that all of them? No, there was one more that had rolled further under the desk; a very nice pink one that he used on every single drawing he made. He couldn’t lose that one! He scooted under the desk, grabbing for it, managing to snag it with his fingertips before it rolled out the small opening at the bottom of the desk.

He heard the sound of the office door opening, then closing, and then the sound of footfalls ascending the stairs.

And Jin’s thoughts were dragged back to that day, when Amatsu Gai had been in the office. So close to him. What if it was him again? Could he simply come in unannounced like that? Surely Izu would have seen him and stopped him! But what if he’d somehow disabled her? Could he do that? 

The footsteps were coming closer, and Jin couldn’t help but squeeze himself beneath the desk again. Aruto wasn’t here this time. If it was Amatsu Gai again…surely he would have noticed the movement beneath the desk! He was going to come around to see what it was, and when he saw Jin, he was going to drag him out and take him away!

A hand touched Jin’s shoulder, and he cried out in alarm, trying to push himself even further beneath the desk.

“Hey! Jin, it’s ok, it’s just me. It’s Aruto.”

Jin managed to open one eye, and he couldn’t stop the choked sob that escaped his lips when he saw that it was, indeed, Aruto that was crouched down next to him. 

Aruto. Sweet, safe Aruto. Not Amatsu Gai. He wasn’t really there. Jin’s mind had simply been playing tricks on him.

“What happened? Are you ok?” Aruto asked, looking like he wanted to touch Jin again, but didn’t know if it would be a good idea.

Jin suddenly wanted to be out from beneath the desk, but when he tried to move, he found his hoodie had snagged once again on the loose nail, and he whimpered.

“Jin?”

“I’m stuck.”

“It’s ok,” Aruto said, his voice low and soothing, as his hand moved past Jin, feeling around between the desk and the hoodie, just as he had last time. “I should have fixed that last time…somebody’ll get hurt on that darn nail, at this rate…ah! There we go.”

Much like last time, Jin couldn’t help but fling himself into Aruto’s arms, burying his face in the soft hoodie he wore.

“You’re ok now. See?” Aruto murmured, rubbing his back. “In fact…Izu? Can you bring a hammer up? There’s a nail under my desk that needs to be taken care of.”

Jin registered Izu’s footfalls coming up into the office, and Aruto gently helped him to his feet, before having him sit in his chair.

“Here…move the chair back just a bit, ok?” Aruto said, before shimmying beneath the desk and giving the nail a few whacks with the hammer. “There we go!”

Aruto turned, scooting out from beneath the desk, and found himself practically between Jin’s long legs, at eye level with his crotch, and he yelped in surprise, smacking his head on the underside of the desk in his haste to move away.

“Aruto!” Jin exclaimed, leaning down to help him up. “Did that hurt? Oh no…here…”

He drew Aruto up to sit on his lap and leaned in close, examining his head with a very serious expression. He knew humans were much more fragile than Humagears, and he hoped that Aruto hadn’t broken anything! Aruto kept rubbing the spot he’d bumped, and his face had gone all red, but he seemed to be ok.

Jin caught Aruto’s hand, moving it off his forehead, and gently pressed his lips to the skin. He remembered seeing a mother do that to their child when they’d hurt their head, in a show that he’d watched on TV in their new room. That would make Aruto feel better, right?

When Jin drew back, his eyes met Aruto’s, and suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

So he did.

Aruto made a strange sound and shifted slightly from where he was perched on Jin’s legs, and Jin suddenly felt fearful that Aruto would wind up falling and bumping his head _again_ , so he rose from the chair, lifting Aruto as he did so, and set him carefully on the edge of his desk.

Jin took Aruto’s face in his hands, his lips brushing against Aruto’s forehead once again, then giving him a small peck on the tip of his nose, before settling gently, almost hesitantly, on his lips.

A soft sound echoed in Aruto’s throat from the contact, especially when Jin moved a bit closer, their bodies nearly touching. He shouldn’t be doing this, he thought to himself. Horobi could return at any moment, and he would certainly not be pleased to see him locking lips with his son like this! And since Hiden had taken the two Humagears in…it made Aruto their sort-of owner…so wouldn’t that make this even more wrong?

His brain was clearly not reaching the rest of his body, Aruto realized, when he found himself returning the kiss rather eagerly. Jin’s hands moved from his face, running down his arms, to his hips, and tugged him closer until their bodies met.

Aruto’s lips broke free from Jin’s, a shaky moan escaping them as he felt his body responding to Jin’s closeness. He felt Jin’s hand slide across the front of his jeans, across his rapidly hardening shaft, and he groaned softly.

“Aruto…” Jin breathed against his ear, his hand continuing to insistently rub him. 

Then Jin’s fingers were unfastening Aruto’s pants, delving past them to trace the outline of his shaft through his underwear, before tugging them down, and Aruto’s breath hitched.

Then Jin was on his knees, taking Aruto’s length into his mouth, and Aruto had to press his hand against his mouth to muffle his sounds of pleasure. Izu was still in the lab…although she would probably hear him anyway, given her advanced hearing.

Then it was a struggle for him to even attempt to remain quiet as Jin set to work. It was as if he realized that they most likely didn’t have much time, and he was determined to make Aruto cum, no matter what.

And Jin was incredibly good, Aruto thought, his fingers tightening around the edge of his desk, pressing his hand more firmly against his mouth as he came, but even so, his groan of completion echoed in the room.

Aruto felt completely spent, as though he were going to ooze off the desk onto the floor, and he felt Jin’s arms go around him. His clothing was fixed, and then he was deposited in his chair, and Jin was kissing him softly.

The handle on the office door turned, and Jin quickly broke away before the door began to open, signaling Horobi and Fuwa’s return. He started to gather up his paper and crayons, managing to lean close enough to Aruto to whisper, “Jin…wouldn’t mind doing more with you.”

Aruto had to slide his chair in a bit further, to make certain that no one would notice that his dick was beginning to stir from Jin’s words.

Because he definitely felt the same way.


	18. Chapter 18

It had been three days since Fuwa had been suspended from his job, and rather than go back to his apartment, he had decided to make the most of Hiden’s hospitality and stayed in the room he’d been given. For some reason, he felt uncomfortable leaving Jin and Horobi unguarded, no matter how good security was at Hiden Intelligence. It gave him peace of mind, being on the same floor as the Humagears, and since he was a light sleeper, he felt certain that he would hear any disturbances if someone who didn’t belong on the floor had made their way up. 

And he couldn’t help but feel more connected to things ever since he and Horobi had slept together. And Fuwa would have been lying to himself if he hadn’t been secretly hoping that it would happen again. But things had been busy, and he wasn’t entirely comfortable with anyone knowing that the very thing he’d been suspended for had actually become a reality.

So he simply focused on the matters at hand, and tried to not stare after Horobi too wistfully from across the room.

That day, however, Fuwa realized he had to go back to the doctor to have his ankle examined. It still ached on occasion, usually when he was on his feet for too long, but he hadn’t needed to ice it for days, so he took that as a positive sign. He continued using the crutch, unless it was a short jaunt from bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

“I’ll have to be out for a few hours, probably,” Fuwa told Aruto. “I should really go by my apartment. I need to grab some clean clothes…I don’t want to keep relying on your generosity. If AIMS is keeping watch, it’ll look suspicious that I haven’t been there in days. I should at least put in an appearance. I’ve got to grab a few things at the conbini while I’m out, too.”

“Do you really think they’re watching your apartment?” Aruto asked, surprise on his face.

“I’d be surprised if they weren’t. Think about it—I was suspended, and they suspected me of an inappropriate relationship. If that were the case, if they watched my apartment and the target showed up there? They’d have evidence, and they could fire me. But my not being there is equally suspicious.” Fuwa trailed off, frowning. “I don’t want them to find out that I’m staying here, though. That might drive them to fire me anyway, since the Humagears are staying here.”

“Like I said, I’d happily hire you on to be their guard…”

“I know. But at the same time…I don’t want them knowing where I am,” Fuwa stated. “Something about all of this just doesn’t make sense. I’d prefer they think I’m out of town, making the most of my time off. If somebody is using AIMS to get me out of the way, I’d like them to think they’ve succeeded, so I can see the look on their faces when I show up unexpectedly to bust them."

“I guess I can understand that,” Aruto murmured. “Is there anything you need? Ah…I suppose being driven around by a Hiden car wouldn’t look so great.”

“You’re right. But just in case I’m followed when I leave my apartment…well, just keep your phone on you. I might need to plan a very roundabout way back here afterward.”

“No problem. I’ll be in the office all day, probably,” Aruto said with a sigh. “Izu and Horobi-san were going to see if they can dig anything up on the brothels.”

“That’s right,” Horobi said, his voice coming from behind him, and Fuwa jumped. “I’m not certain that I wish to wait idly while AIMS may or may not be seriously working on the case. I feel that there are other powers at work, trying to slow or stop the investigation completely.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking, too,” Fuwa agreed, getting up from his seat and grabbing his crutch. “All right…I’m going to get this over with. Aruto-san, expect me to call in a few hours. I’m pretty sure this won’t be a simple outing.”

Aruto nodded, picking up his desk phone. “I’ll call a cab for you so it’s waiting when you get downstairs.”

Horobi followed after Fuwa, pausing briefly to brush his hand across the small of Fuwa’s back. Even through layers of clothing and his coat, Fuwa couldn’t help but flush from the contact.

“Be careful,” the Humagear murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Their eyes met for just a moment, and to Fuwa, it felt as though there were so many unsaid words between them. But this simply wasn’t the time for any of them. For the moment, he simply nodded, and Horobi returned to the lab, and Fuwa left the office.

*

Fuwa breathed a sigh of relief as he left the hospital. His doctor had proclaimed that his ankle looked to be healing properly, and if he continued as he had been, he would be off the crutch before he knew it. He was encouraged to continue using it if he would be walking or standing for long periods, but for short jaunts, it was perfectly fine to go without it, provided that he was careful and didn’t try to hurry along.

There was a good-sized conbini not too far from the hospital, so Fuwa walked over, after calling for another cab to pick him up in twenty minutes. He picked up a handbasket and grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen (the pain pills for his ankle were no longer recommended, but his doctor recommended an over-the-counter pain reliever just in case, and ice could be applied as needed, but Fuwa had been sternly warned to not overwork himself), along with a bottle of shampoo and a tube of toothpaste. After a moment’s contemplation, he picked up a bottle of lube and a box of condoms, feeling his face flush as he tried to hide them beneath his perfectly normal everyday items.

It wasn’t as though he had to worry about STDs with a Humagear partner, but Fuwa hadn’t considered that Horobi would need to clean himself out if Fuwa came inside of him. He’d mentioned that Hiden had a product in their catalog for just such a thing, but Fuwa certainly didn’t want to have to ask Aruto for one of _those_! He’d rather make things simpler with a box of condoms.

Although, he hoped that whenever they found themselves alone again, Horobi would be the one doing the penetrating.

Fuwa felt the flush on his face deepening, and he struggled to bring his thoughts back to something normal and mundane and certainly nothing that had to do with the lights that ran along Horobi’s length, and how Fuwa wanted to watch them disappear as he took it into his mouth…

Fuwa shook his head, moving on to the next aisle. What else did he need? Energy drinks would be nice…he didn’t have any snacks in his room; maybe some potato chips? Would he be able to carry all of this? He had a duffle bag in his closet that he could add this bag to, as well as his clothing. If he could just pick his car up from his apartment building, it would make things easier…but he also didn’t know if someone had put any tracking devices on it.

God, he hated thinking like this. It was as though his life had become some kind of spy movie. But he simply did not want to take any chances. He didn’t care at this point if he lost his job, but he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of having their little theory proven right. More than anything, he didn’t want anyone at AIMS to know where he was, not until they’d figured out exactly what was going on. 

He added some cup noodles to his basket, and decided to call it quits. He did have the option of going to the Hiden cafeteria for meals, but he didn’t want to have to rely on it. He’d never cooked much at his apartment, so being limited to microwavable foods in his room wasn’t much of a stretch, he thought to himself, then went to pay for his purchases. It was irrational, but when the cashier reached for the box of condoms to ring them up, Fuwa felt like a nervous teenager. Maybe because the last time he'd purchased condoms, he'd been an eager teenager, figuring that if he had them, girls would be flocking to him to help him use them up. It had taken him a few years to realize that he didn't even like girls in that way, plus he was hopeless in interacting with people in the first place, so dates had been few and far between, and often his date didn't seem interested in going out with him again. How sad was that? 27 years old and he’d always been so focused on work, that’d he never really dated or had a relationship until now.

 _Was_ this a relationship? Horobi had sounded like he was open for…whatever this was between them…to continue. 

Fuwa was snapped out of his thoughts as the cashier told him the total, and he murmured a quick thank you as he swiped his card, then gathered up his bags (at least it was only two, and they weren’t heavy), and made his way to the door, thankful to see the cab waiting outside for him.

As they stopped at a traffic light near his complex, Fuwa leaned forward, slipping a bill to the driver. “I have to grab a few things from my apartment, but I’d appreciate it if you can stay close by to pick me up again.”

“I could wait outside for you, sir, it’s no trouble. I can just add it to your total.”

Fuwa did his best to look embarrassed. “I would, but…well, I had a bit of a messy breakup, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re waiting for me to come back. I wouldn’t want to subject you to nosy questions. I just need to grab a bag so I can head to the airport. My grandmother is sick, and I said I’d come take care of her since I have some time off.”

“That’s rough…and you’re hurt, too,” the driver said, nodding at Fuwa’s crutch as the light changed. “Don’t worry. Just call the company when you’re ready to go, and I’ll be sure to take the fare. You seem like a nice enough fella, and I’m not just saying that because of this,” he added holding up the bill, before tucking it into his shirt pocket.

“I appreciate it,” Fuwa said with a quick smile.

Then they were pulling into his complex, and Fuwa paid the driver, all while silently scanning the parking lot. There…a few buildings down. That was definitely an AIMS van. He knew what the undercover vehicles looked like…did they think they were being slick? 

He gathered his bags and crutch, and made his way up to the second floor, unlocking his door and ducking inside, before locking it up again. He sighed heavily, setting the bags on the floor and slipping his shoes off.

He made a beeline for his bedroom, rummaging around in his closet until he found the duffle bag he’d been searching for. He put it on the bed, unzipping it, and set to work, filling it with extra pairs of socks and underwear, a few pairs of sweatpants, and then he went to his closet, frowning at how empty it was. He hadn’t been home to do laundry in…god, how long? He’d been in the hospital, then he’d been at Hiden…his hamper was surely filled with clothing ready to get up and walk on their own.

He found one pair of slacks toward the back of his closet, and two dress shirts. He’d have to go shopping for new clothes, at this rate; he didn’t want to come back here for his dirty laundry. He wanted to avoid the apartment as long as possible, until things were squared away, especially since it was being watched. At least his fridge was already empty, so he didn't have to worry about food spoiling. 

Fuwa pulled out an old pair of jeans that he couldn’t remember when he’d last worn, and a black sweater. He might as well change; it might make it a bit harder for them to track him if he wasn’t wearing his usual suit. He stripped out of his clothes and changed as quickly as possible, calling for a cab as he pulled his coat back on. He brought the duffle bag out and added his purchases from the conbini, then zipped it closed, pleased that everything fit without the bag bulging. He slipped on his shoes and waited until he saw the cab pulling into the parking lot, then took his phone and propped it between his shoulder and his head as he stepped out, as if he were making a call, pulling out his keys and fumbling with the duffle bag and his crutch.

“Hi, grandma,” he said, his voice just a touch louder than usual. Who knew if there were listening devices anywhere? With AIMS, anything was possible, and he wanted to make this as convincing as possible. “Sorry…it took me a little longer than I thought. I’m just leaving now for the airport. How are you feeling? That’s good. I’ll call you again as soon as I land, ok? Just take it easy, nothing is worth you hurting yourself over. I’m happy to clean or do anything you need me to when I get there. Ok. I’ve got to go, my cab is here. Love you too. I’ll see you soon, grandma. Bye.”

Fuwa tossed the duffle bag into the back seat and slid in after it, and the cab headed out of the parking lot. As expected, when he glanced back, he saw the van slowly easing out of its parking spot, and as they traveled, he saw it hanging back in traffic, but definitely following them.

He tapped in Aruto’s number, and waited. “Hey. Remember what I mentioned earlier? Yeah, I was right. Yeah. Headed there right now. Ok. Thanks.”

He hung up, sliding his phone into his coat pocket, and sighed, leaning his head against the back of the seat and closing his eyes.

“Rough day?” the driver asked.

“Yeah…you could say that.”

When they arrived at the airport, Fuwa paid the fare, slipping another extra bill in. “I’d sure appreciate if anyone asks about me, if you can be really vague, or have forgotten about me entirely.”

“No problem. Hang in there, man. Hope your grandma feels better, and you too,” the driver replied, and Fuwa gave him a smile in return.

Fuwa noticed the van making its way slowly across the parking lot, its path blocked by various pedestrians and shuttles, and Fuwa sent a silent thanks up to whatever deity was responsible. 

He made his way inside the airport, which in itself was bustling, and would hide him from prying eyes. As he moved out of the way of general traffic, his phone chimed, and he saw a text from Aruto, informing him of who to speak to.

When the AIMS van finally got close enough to the door, Fuwa was already safely in the backseat of an unmarked car with tinted windows, heading out of the parking lot and back toward Hiden.

When he returned to Hiden Intelligence, he showed his guest pass to the receptionist, and made his way back up to Aruto’s office, planning to give them the lowdown on what had happened when he’d gotten to his apartment.

He stepped into Aruto’s office, into a flurry of alarmed shouting from Jin, and he followed the Humagear’s gaze into the lab, where Horobi was laying motionless on the floor.

The strap of the duffle bag slipped from Fuwa’s suddenly numb fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud.


	19. Chapter 19

“Izu…do you really think this is a good idea?” Aruto asked.

Izu nodded. “I share the same concerns that Horobi-san and Fuwa-san have about relying on AIMS to continue with the case against the brothels. If they are giving up on it—or are being forced to abandon it—then it would beneficial for us to acquire the information they’ve collected thus far.”

“You’ll be safe, though, right?” Aruto asked, lowering his voice so Jin would not overhear. He was happily seated at Aruto’s desk, drawing, and since he was not connected to the network, would not be taking part in the gathering of information.

“I believe I will be able to get into their databases,” Izu proclaimed. “Horobi-san will be backing me up. I have more experience in these matters, but he will provide much needed assistance.”

“More experience..? Izu, when have you hacked into other company’s databases?” Aruto asked, incredulous.

Izu merely smiled.

“Ok…yeah, I probably don’t wanna know, do I? Do you need me to do anything? Anything I can watch out for? Or should the clumsy human get out of the way and let you guys work?”

This time, Aruto was met with two wordless smiles, and he rose from his seat, heading for the stairs out of the lab. “Got it. I’ll uh…just hold the fort down.”

But they had both settled into their task, both Izu’s headset and Horobi’s ear ports showing the spinning graphic that showed that they were involved in a task.

“Izu-san and papa are busy, huh?” Jin said, glancing toward the lab, as Aruto approached the desk.

“Yeah. It might be a little while,” Aruto replied.

A grin crossed Jin’s lips. “So…can we maybe kiss a little more?”

Aruto felt a flush creeping up his neck as he looked at Jin’s hopeful face, trying to think of a way to decline without hurting his feelings. “I…don’t know if that’s a good idea right now…”

“Ehh? Why not?”

“Well…that’s usually…something that people would do in private. And I don’t think your papa would be happy if he looks up and sees me kissing you when he and Izu get back,” Aruto stammered.

“Aww…” Jin pouted, rolling a crayon across the desk, reaching out to grab it before it rolled off the edge. He glanced down at the lab as he began to sit down, pausing as he noticed an odd flickering coming from Horobi’s ear ports. “Huh? What’s that?”

Aruto got to his feet, his eyes widening slightly when he noticed what looked like static interference flickering across the steady lights on Horobi’s ear ports. “That…doesn’t look right.”

Just then, Izu blinked, and she abruptly shot to her feet. Her gaze immediately landed on Horobi, seeing his ear ports flashing more erratically with interference. He jerked once, the lights going dim, and he slowly toppled from his chair onto the floor.

“Papa!” Jin shouted, rushing for the stairs, with Aruto hot on his heels.

“Izu, what happened?” Aruto demanded, as Jin dropped to his knees beside Horobi, shaking his arm.

“We were able to secure most of the information…however, I had not realized how out of date Horobi-san’s firewalls and malware protection are. AIMS, of course, had their information protected, but I have top of the line protection. I was not affected and copied the information. Horobi-san, on the other hand, has been infected with a number of viruses.”

“What..?” Jin looked between the two of them. “You…you need to fix him! Papa!”

“Horobi!”

Fuwa, having returned amidst the chaos, hurried into the lab, his crutch forgotten at the top of the stairs. “What happened? Why isn’t he moving?”

“Horobi-san’s security protocols were not updated, and he has been infected,” Izu stated.

Fuwa’s eyes went wide as he looked between Horobi, Izu, and Aruto. “Hey…you gotta fix him! You know how to, right? You’re the top Humagear business!”

Jin’s eyes were shiny, showing just how distraught he was, soft whimpers leaving his lips as he clung to Horobi’s arm.

“I am unable to assist if everyone is between me and Horobi-san,” Izu said, her voice louder than usual, yet calm and firm. “If Jin-kun and Fuwa-san would kindly step back, I will begin the process of updating Horobi-san’s software to combat these viruses.”

“Papa…will be ok?” Jin asked, his voice shaking, but he allowed Aruto to draw him to his feet and guide him away from Horobi’s side.

“It will take a bit of time for the antivirus to take effect, but I expect he will recover with little difficulty,” Izu stated. When Fuwa reluctantly stepped back, Izu easily hefted Horobi to his feet, and brought him to the chair that sat in the middle of the lab, plugging cables into his headset and bringing up a screen on a nearby tablet. “This will require several hours to complete.”

“That’s so long…papa…” Jin whimpered, slumping slightly against Aruto.

“Hey…it’s ok,” Aruto said, trying to sound as optimistic as possible. “Horobi-san is in good hands. He’ll be good as new.”

“Jin’s…battery is getting low. Jin wants to go upstairs,” Jin said, his voice soft.

“I could plug you in here…”

“Aruto shachou, it would be best to let Jin-kun rest. This will take time to complete…and he is understandably distressed. A distraction might be for the best. By the time he has fully charged and rested, Horobi-san should be back up and running properly,” Izu stated.

“Here…I’ll follow you upstairs,” Fuwa offered. “I need to drop my bag off in my room. But then I’m coming back down here.” He looked at Izu, as if daring her to protest. “Aruto and Jin will be safe enough upstairs, but I don’t want to leave Horobi unprotected, not while he’s offline.”

“You will need to stay clear while I update his protection, but I otherwise have no objection.”

Fuwa nodded, then followed Aruto to the elevator, glad that Jin was still able to walk. With his bag and the crutch, he doubted he would have been able to offer much help if the Humagear suddenly ran out of battery.

They rode up in silence, and Jin sleepily handed Aruto his keycard, which he used to open the door.

“Call if you need anything. I’m dropping this inside my room and heading right back down. I’ll call when Horobi’s back online,” Fuwa said.

Aruto nodded, staggering slightly when Jin leaned a bit more heavily against him. “Ok. Thank you, Fuwa-san. I’d better get him hooked up before he shuts down entirely.”

Fuwa nodded, then turned toward his room, and Aruto let the door close. He spotted the charging cables plugged into the lamp beside the couch, and he coaxed Jin into sitting down, before gently brushing his hair away from his ear port so he could plug him in.

Jin sighed as he began to charge. “Aruto…sit with me?”

He didn’t have anything else to do, Aruto realized, so he nodded, taking a seat on the couch beside Jin.

“Jin…Jin doesn’t want papa to die.”

Jin scooted a bit closer to Aruto, leaning against his shoulder, and Aruto shifted so he could wrap his arms around the Humagear. “He won’t die. Trust Izu…she’ll wipe out the virus, and make sure that something like that won’t affect Horobi-san again.”

“Promise?” Jin murmured.

“Promise. It’ll be all right. Just relax and charge, and I’ll be right here. When your battery is full, I bet Fuwa-san will call and say that Horobi-san is awake,” Aruto said, brushing Jin’s shaggy hair out of his eyes.

Jin nuzzled Aruto’s shoulder, then went quiet as he slipped into sleep mode.

Well…he wasn’t going to be moving from this spot for a while, Aruto realized. He probably could get up and not disturb Jin if he was in sleep mode, but he didn’t want to be dishonest. He said he’d be there, and he had every intention of doing exactly what he’d promised.

Maybe he’d just close his eyes for a few minutes, he thought. Jin felt so nice in his arms…and he was so warm…

*

A ticklish feeling on his cheek woke him, and Aruto made a sleepy sound as he opened his eyes, forgetting where he was for a moment.

“Oh! You’re awake now!”

Jin was still leaning against him, one hand reaching up to push his hair back—maybe that had been what had woken him in the first place, Aruto thought.

“Hey, Aruto?”

“Hmm?”

“You said before that kissing is something that people do in private. And…we’re alone now,” Jin said, moving from the cushion beside Aruto until he was straddling his hips. “So…it’s ok if we kiss now, right?”

Aruto’s sleepy brain couldn’t come up with a sufficient argument, especially not when the rest of his body was agreeing wholeheartedly with Jin.

Jin’s lips tentatively met his, as if he were unsure that he was doing it properly, his hands moving up to hold onto Aruto’s face.

Aruto hesitated for just a moment, before gently returning the kiss, and he heard a soft sound echo in Jin’s throat. His arms went around Jin’s waist, and it took every bit of self control that he possessed to not grasp the Humagear’s hips and grind against him.

Jin didn’t deserve rough treatment like that. He’d surely had more than enough of it when he was at the brothel. He wanted to be gentle with him.

So it caught him off guard when Jin lowered himself directly onto Aruto’s lap, rubbing their bodies together very insistently.

Jin’s lips left Aruto’s, a needy whimper echoing in the room. “Aruto…” he whispered, his breath ghosting across Aruto’s skin and sending a shiver through his body.

He leaned in to kiss Aruto once again, approaching the task with far more vigor than before, and Aruto couldn’t help but be swept along with his enthusiasm. His hands pressed against Jin’s back, drawing him closer, and Jin whimpered into the kiss, his lips parting slightly. Aruto’s tongue slid past his lips slowly, hesitantly, as if waiting to see if it were ok with Jin.

Jin’s tongue eagerly met Aruto’s, his fingers tangling in Aruto’s hair and bringing him closer, as if he were trying to meld their bodies together. His hips rolled forward again, and he could definitely feel Aruto’s cock responding beneath him.

Eventually, Aruto had to break the kiss, gasping as he sucked in lungfuls of air.

“Aruto,” Jin breathed, his hands trailing down the front of his hoodie, until he encountered the buttons holding his suit jacket closed. He made quick work of them, tugging awkwardly at the garment to try and remove it from Aruto’s body. He pushed it off his shoulders, trying to work it down his arms, but it was proving more difficult than he’d anticipated, since Aruto was seated flush against the back of the couch. Jin made a small sound of annoyance, trying to pull the jacket from the bottom, and in doing so, something fell out of the garment’s pocket. He couldn’t help but peer down at the couch cushion, and a grin lit up his face when he saw a small box of condoms and an equally small bottle of lube.

Aruto followed Jin’s gaze down to the items on the couch, and he yelped in surprise when he saw them. “Huh? Where did those come from?”

“Your pocket~” Jin said, his grin broadening. 

Aruto was completely baffled; _he_ hadn’t put them there! Heck, all he had was a single condom that he kept in his wallet, just in case—and now that he thought about it, how long had he even _had_ it there? But more importantly, who had put _these_ in his jacket pocket?

The appearance of the mysterious condoms and lube seemed to spur Jin on, and he ground against Aruto once again, feeling a definite hardness pressing against him. “Aruto…I want more.”

Aruto felt Jin’s fingers at his waist, fumbling with his jeans, and he caught his hands in his own. “Not yet,” he murmured. A voice yelled at him that he shouldn’t be doing this, not now, maybe not ever, but he couldn’t ignore the way he felt about Jin. 

“Aruto,” Jin breathed, his voice little more than a whine, his body rubbing against Aruto’s once again. “Please…do something…” As if encouraging him to make a move, he took Aruto’s hand in his own, pressing a kiss to the palm, before running his tongue along the length of one of his fingers, taking great pleasure in the surprised hiss that left Aruto’s lips. Feeling more encouraged, he took the digit into his mouth, running his tongue along it, drawing back a bit so he could take another in. He could feel Aruto’s cock stiffening beneath him, and he couldn’t remember ever wanting another man’s dick inside him as badly as he wanted Aruto’s right now.

Still sucking on Aruto’s fingers, Jin shifted slightly on his lap, managing to shove his pants off and onto the floor, before continuing to rock against him in a teasing manner, before his movements became a bit more erratic. 

Drawing back, letting Aruto’s fingers slip from his mouth, Jin met his gaze, even as he guided Aruto’s fingers downward, moving slowly across his ass, until they pressed against his entrance, and he shifted again, a needy moan leaving his lips. “Please, Aruto…I want you inside me… _please_ …”

That sounded like a fantastic idea to Aruto, and he fumbled for the bottle of lube with his free hand, rubbing the tip of one finger against Jin’s entrance, feeling him squirm on his lap. He opened the cap on the bottle with shaking fingers, managing to free his hand from Jin’s grasp so he could pour some of the lube onto his fingers, fairly certain that he also dripped some of the gel onto his jeans.

He returned to rubbing one finger against Jin’s entrance, taking a bit of time before he started to slide the fingertip into his body. Jin bucked slightly, his eyes falling shut.

“God, you’re so tight,” Aruto breathed. He drizzled a bit more lube onto his fingers, some of it running along the swell of Jin’s ass, and he groaned softly.

“They…m-made me like that,” Jin gasped, his fingers tightening around Aruto’s hoodie. “They…they never did anything like this for Jin. They liked making it h-hurt…”

Aruto’s free hand cupped Jin’s cheek, coaxing the Humagear into looking into his eyes. “It won’t hurt this time. I’m going to take my time prepping you, so it’ll feel good when it’s time for me to be inside you.”

A shiver ran through Jin’s body, and suddenly, he felt unbearably hot. 

Aruto was as good as his word; he took his time, very gently and carefully moving his fingers into Jin’s body. If he couldn’t work one in, he didn’t force it. He was slow, gentle, and methodical, and Jin was entirely unused to such things. He wasn’t used to someone considering his own pleasure in times like this. He wasn’t used to careful touches, only rough, forceful, prodding fingers.

After enough time had passed, Jin found himself rocking back against Aruto’s hand, and the three fingers that he’d worked into his body. It felt…good. So good. Was this what it was supposed to be like? 

“Aruto…” he whimpered, leaning back slightly as he rode his fingers. “Ahh…Aruto! Jin’s going to..!”

Before he could finish speaking, Jin’s body shuddered as he came, thick streams of cum smearing across the hem of his shirt and splattering onto the front of Aruto’s hoodie. His fingers closed around Aruto’s shoulders as he rode out his release, his voice sounding almost pained, until his reserves were finally emptied, and he slumped against Aruto.

“Jin? H-hey, are you all right? Jin!” 

After a few moments, Jin nodded, but didn’t move. “Sh-should have told you…my settings are turned up really high. I cum a whole lot. I-I made a mess…I’m sorry…”

“Hey…don’t apologize. It’s all right. I was just surprised…I know I’m not _that_ good, to make somebody cum that hard,” Aruto said.

Jin finally drew back enough to meet Aruto’s gaze, a small smile on his lips. “I thought it was good. _Really_ good.”

As he finished speaking, Jin slid off Aruto’s lap, shedding his shirt, and laid back on the other end of the couch, his eyes never leaving Aruto. “Please…I want you to put it in now.”

Jin’s words went directly to Aruto’s groin, and he didn’t know how he was going to last more than a handful of seconds once he was inside him. He grabbed the box of condoms, fumbling the package open and retrieving one of the square packets. Getting to his feet, he carefully peeled off his soiled hoodie, then hastily kicked his shoes off, before tugging his jeans and boxers off.

Jin watched as Aruto tore open the packet containing the condom, watching him roll it onto his length, before working a bit more lube along his shaft.

Then Aruto was lowering himself onto the cushions above him, his eyes locked on Jin’s own, even as he hooked his arm beneath one of Jin’s legs, lifting it slightly. The head of his shaft pressed insistently against Jin’s entrance, and he whimpered in anticipation, never once looking away.

Absurdly, Jin thought back to the quiz he’d taken in one of the magazines he’d flipped through while he and Horobi were still staying at AIMS. The one that he’d taken while pretending that he and Aruto were a couple.

_Does he look into your eyes while you’re making love?_

Aruto’s gaze was still locked on him as he began to slide into Jin’s body, and Jin’s hands moved up to grasp his shoulders.

“Yes…” Jin breathed, his fingers sliding up the back of Aruto’s neck to delve into his hair.

Aruto allowed himself to be drawn down into a kiss as he worked himself into Jin, slowly and carefully, paying attention for any hint of discomfort. But there were none. Jin was so eager, so open to him, so trusting, and Aruto wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for him.

“Aruto…” Jin breathed against his ear. “Please…start moving…”

Aruto blinked, not even realizing that he’d already seated himself fully in Jin’s body. He drew back until just the head of his shaft was inside Jin, then slowly pushed into him again, enjoying the low moan that left Jin’s lips.

“You feel so good, Jin,” Aruto gasped, drawing back and pushing into him again, just a bit faster this time.

“So do you! Don’t stop…please!” Jin pleaded, his legs wrapping around Aruto’s waist.

Aruto happily complied, settling into a rhythm that both of them seemed to enjoy, and he could feel his body signaling that his orgasm was rapidly approaching. It felt as though no time had passed at all! But…there would be other times besides this, surely!

His fingers moved down to Jin’s shaft, wrapping around his length and beginning to pump him in time to his thrusts.

“Ahh…Aruto…I’ll make a mess again…”

“It’s ok, Jin…cum with me, ok?” Aruto breathed, then a few moments later, he groaned loudly as he came, his hips stuttering against Jin’s body.

Just seconds later, Jin came again, his release splattering between their bodies, smearing against their chests when Aruto leaned down to capture his lips in a long, sweet kiss.

When they finally parted, Aruto brushed Jin’s bangs away from his eyes. “Was it…did you like it?”

“Mmmhmm.”

Jin’s arms went around Aruto, drawing him closer, and Aruto slid out of Jin’s body, removing the condom and tying it off. “We should take a bath, and change. Fuwa-san will probably be calling up any time now.”

“We don’t have a bath in here,” Jin piped up. “Just a little shower.”

“I have one. Down in the CEO room at the end of the hall,” Aruto offered.

“Is it a big bath? Big enough for both of us?” When Aruto nodded, a coy smile crossed Jin’s lips. “Big enough for Jin to ride Aruto?”

Aruto sucked in a surprised breath, but nodded nonetheless. “Grab a change of clothes. Try to get something similar to what you'd been wearing...hopefully with everything going on, no one will notice that we've both changed. And the dirty clothes. I’ll…figure out a way to get them cleaned. Later.”

Jin grinned, bouncing off to grab a set of clean clothes, while Aruto gathered up his own clothes, the condom wrapper, the used condom…anything that could possibly link him to having been in the room—and, more importantly, having had sex with Jin. He didn’t want Horobi to find anything incriminating. He liked breathing far too much.

Then he was scurrying out of the room with Jin, both of them darting down the hall, naked, barely able to suppress their laughter.

By the time Fuwa called Aruto’s cell, he and Jin were tangled in a sleepy embrace in the rapidly cooling bathwater.


	20. Chapter 20

Fuwa was pacing. He knew he was, and he knew it couldn’t be good for his ankle, but every time he looked down into the lab and saw Horobi’s still form laying on the chair, he would start right back up again.

He trusted that Izu would be able to fix the issue, that she would get all of his inner workings updated to fight off what he’d picked up from the AIMS database. He knew that Horobi would be all right.

But that didn’t change the icy dread he’d felt when he’d walked into the office and looked down to see him motionless on the floor.

“Fuwa-san, that repetition of motion cannot be good for your ankle.”

Ah…he’d been called out. 

But at the same time, there was absolutely no extra furniture in Aruto’s office. Nothing. Not even an uncomfortable chair in front of his desk for guests. What the hell was _that_ about? Even Fuwa’s shitty little office at AIMS had one of those uncomfortable chairs, but on _both_ sides of the desk.

He felt a slight pang as he thought about his job. Would he ever be welcomed back, even after this sham of an investigation was over? Although now, he supposed it wasn’t quite a sham, was it? He and Horobi had had sex. Granted, it had only been once, but he was praying fervently that it would happen again. Horobi had even made it sound like he wanted it to be a regular thing.

Fuwa leaned against the railing over the lab, running a hand over his face. He never thought he’d be dealing with something like this. He never thought this case would be so… _much_. He never thought AIMS would accuse him of something like this, and at the same time, it appeared that their investigation had ground to a screeching halt. He’d managed to glance at some of the reports that Izu had set to printing, even while she worked on updating Horobi’s system protection, and it seemed like there hadn’t been anything new since he’d gone to the hospital. It seemed as though the case were suspended in limbo.

But it wasn’t, was it? Amatsu Gai had been identified by both Horobi and Jin, and he’d conveniently shown up in Aruto’s office after the incident in the parking garage, looking for information. Coming from a man who rarely set foot in Hiden Intelligence, that alone seemed incredibly suspicious. Fuwa wished he knew enough about hacking to try getting into Zaia’s computers; surely there would be some sort of information they could use! But he was an amateur at best—his computer expertise didn’t expand beyond typing up reports—and after what had happened today, he wouldn’t want to risk Izu or Horobi going in to look for information, regardless of how well they were protected. Zaia dabbled in Humagear tech, so it wouldn’t be entirely unheard of for them to have some sort of failsafe that would scramble a Humagear’s brains if they tried hacking in…right? It was far too risky.

_“Presented by Zaia”_

Fuwa whirled around as the startup announcement echoed in the lab, and he grabbed his crutch, making his way carefully down into the lab. 

Horobi was back online. He was ok. Everything would be ok.

He stopped several paces away from the chair, not wanting to get in Izu’s way or upset any of the cables that were dangling from Horobi’s ports or the tablet Izu held. His gaze never wavered from Horobi, as if he kept eye contact and wished hard enough, he would open his eyes, and everything would be all right.

When Horobi’s eyes slowly slid open, Fuwa felt that, if he’d been alone in the room, he would have wept in relief. He wanted to go to Horobi’s side, take his hand, just to have some kind of physical connection to reassure himself that Horobi was all right, but…he didn’t want to be in the way. And he didn’t want anyone else to know about their relationship. Not now. 

Horobi’s gaze slid around the room, and when it landed on Fuwa, it lingered for just a heartbeat longer than it had anywhere else. “What happened?” he finally asked, frowning when he heard the slightly garbled condition his voice was in.

“I had not taken into consideration that your antivirus software would be out of date before we attempted to hack in the AIMS database. You were offline for several hours while I updated the software and strengthened your firewalls against something like this happening again. Please accept my apologies,” Izu explained, bowing slightly at the end.

“Jin..?”

Fuwa brought himself back to the present. Right…he’d promised to call Aruto to let him know Horobi came back online. He dug his cell out of his pocket and pressed a button to speed-dial Aruto.

“Mmm…’lo?”

“Aruto, it’s Fuwa. Horobi just came back online.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Aruto said, his voice suddenly sounding a bit more alert. “Everything’s ok? Izu did a good job? Sorry, I guess I fell asleep while we were waiting.”

“Papa’s ok? Aruto, Fuwafuwa-san said papa’s ok, right?” Jin said in the background.

“Yeah, we can head back down. Thank you, Fuwa-san, we’ll be there in a few,” Aruto said, then disconnected.

Fuwa frowned at his phone, before tucking it into his pocket. Aruto had fallen asleep? Jin should have finished charging well in advance, even if his battery had been nearly depleted. He found it amazing to think that the excitable Humagear would have let Aruto sleep if he had been fully charged, awake, and—most importantly—worried about Horobi.

Izu unhooked Horobi and moved away to replace everything she’d been using, and all other thoughts left Fuwa’s mind when Horobi’s gaze settled on him again, seeming to silently ask him to come to his side. And since Izu had stepped away, and things seemed to be all right for the most part, Fuwa found himself unable to refuse Horobi’s silent plea, and stepped up beside the chair.

Horobi’s fingers brushed against his, and Fuwa couldn’t help but grasp his hand for just a moment, giving it a quick squeeze, before releasing it. It was such a small gesture, but to Fuwa, it felt like a man dying in the desert had been given a much-needed drink of water.

“You’re all right now?” Fuwa asked, his voice soft, even though he was certain Izu could hear him from across the room.

“I feel…I believe a human would describe this as ‘weak’,” Horobi replied. His voice, to Fuwa, sounded much like someone who was recovering from an illness. It sounded a touch garbled, but hoarse and tired at the same time.

“Even with your new software working at 100% and the viruses having been quarantined or eliminated, it will take several days for you to return to normal operating standards,” izu stated, turning back to them as she finished stowing the cables. “This is most similar to a human who has been bedridden for days with a severe illness such as the flu. Your voice will recover over the same amount of time. It is recommended that you take it easy and allow your systems to catch up.”

The office door opened, and seconds later, Jin raced into the lab. “Papa!” he cried out, rushing to Horobi’s side and engulfing him in a hug. “You scared Jin!”

Horobi’s hand moved up to rub Jin’s back soothingly. “I’ll be fine. I will recover perfectly over the next few days.”

“Your voice sounds funny,” Jin said, sniffling.

Aruto went over to Izu, smiling in relief. “Thanks, Izu…you saved the day.”

“I am happy to assist, Aruto shachou,” Izu replied, smiling broadly. “Did the items I placed in your jacket pocket come in useful?”

Aruto gave her a blank stare before her words registered, and he felt his face slowly going red. “Th-th-those were..?”

Izu simply continued to smile, before she stepped away to power off the tablet and replace it in a drawer at the workstation.

Oh god, Aruto thought to himself. Izu knew. Did anyone else? He was silently thankful that things were just a bit chaotic from Horobi’s collapse, or otherwise he was certain that Horobi would have overheard Izu’s question and demanded to know what Aruto had been doing with Jin. As it was, no one seemed to have noticed that they were wearing different clothes—Aruto had taken great care in finding a hoodie similar in color to the one he’d been wearing, and most of Jin’s shirts were the same color—so maybe their secret could stay that way for a little while longer, at least.

“Horobi-san will require extra rest during this time,” Izu was telling Fuwa. “His battery will need extra charging, as his systems will be working double time to bring him back to normal operating standards.”

Fuwa nodded, a bit confused as to why Izu was telling him this instead of Aruto.

“Therefore, I believe it would be safest for Horobi-san to stay with you during this time.”

Fuwa blinked, meeting Izu’s unwavering gaze. Oh god…did…she somehow suspect that they were..?

“It would be safest, security-wise, until Horobi-san has fully recovered. If anything were to happen, Horobi-san would not be able to defend himself as easily as usual. As I said, he will be much like a human recovering from flu symptoms, so he may require extra assistance.”

“Jin can watch over papa…”

“I think Izu-san has a point,” Fuwa said. “The security on the upper floors seems good, but…well, if you get too comfortable about things like that, that’s when things tend to happen. If someone got up there and slipped into your room, Jin, even though I’m just a few doors down, I don’t have a Humagear’s hearing, so something could happen without me being aware of it.”

Jin shrank back, his eyes wide and fearful as he gripped Horobi’s hand. “Jin and papa could be stolen away without Fuwafuwa-san knowing,” he finally said.

“The chances of that happening are incredibly slim, but…I want to do what I can to make those chances even lower,” Fuwa replied.

“That’s why Fuwafuwa-san is our guard, right?” Jin said, managing a small smile and nodding. “Ok. Then Jin should stay in your room, too. Then we’ll all be safe and together so nobody can steal us.”

Fuwa hesitated. “Well…that’s true…”

So much for doting on Horobi until he was well again, Fuwa thought to himself, then immediately felt guilty about even having such thoughts. Horobi was clearly weaker than usual, and wouldn’t be up for any…additional activities.

“It’ll be fun! It’ll be like a sleepover!” Jin declared. “I need to get my sketchbook…and my magazines…oh, and my charging cable…um…”

Fuwa met Horobi’s gaze, and for just a moment, amused smiles crossed their lips.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy one month anniversary to this AU! I can't get over the fact that I've written over 40,000 words in one month's time, this is something that has never happened before! I'm excited to see what the next month brings. How many more words, how many more twists and turns in the story? Thanks to everyone who's been following this AU and leaving such nice comments, I truly do appreciate it. <3

Once Izu had double checked to make sure that Horobi was functioning properly, and had verified that the antivirus software, firewalls, and malware protection were doing their job, she proclaimed that he was fit to be brought upstairs to rest.

Fuwa offered his assistance, but Horobi seemed to want to test his body’s functionality, and rose from the chair on his own. He appeared fine to anyone who didn’t know him, but Fuwa noticed how he moved a bit slower than usual, and when Jin spoke to him, there was a slight delay before he answered.

That must have been some whammy of viruses he’d been hit with, Fuwa thought to himself, feeling a surge of anger toward AIMS. Of course they had to have some kind of safety surrounding their electronic information, especially on a case as complex as this one. But the fact that they’d caused Horobi such distress—and Jin, he was definitely still concerned, hovering nearby at any given time—made him want to throttle whoever had implemented them in the first place.

A sickening thought fluttered through his head: what if whoever was behind his suspension had done it? What if they’d suspected that the Humagears would try to hack in to collect whatever information they could on the case? 

Fuwa shook his head. No, surely he was being paranoid. 

The three of them headed upstairs, and Fuwa paused outside the Humagears’ room as Jin went inside to retrieve their charging cables.

“Oh! We need clean clothes, too, right? Um…what else…” Jin murmured, deep in thought as he looked through a cluttered section on a table that was definitely where he spent a good amount of time. Fuwa saw at least three sketchbooks, crayons and colored pencils, and a small stack of magazines.

“Jin, we’ll only be a few doors down. If there is anything else you decide that you need, coming back to get it isn’t a problem,” Horobi said, his voice still sounding so oddly hoarse and garbled.

“That’s not how sleepovers work, papa,” Jin said. “You don’t go back home till the next day. You spend all night watching movies, and eating popcorn, and painting your nails, and talking about boys!”

Fuwa couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his lips. “I’m afraid I’m fresh out of popcorn and nail polish, but there _is_ a pretty big TV in the sitting area.”

Jin grinned, finally choosing one of his sketchbooks and the box of crayons that Aruto had given him, along with a few magazines, then he grabbed their changes of clothes. “Ok! Jin’s ready!”

They left the room, making sure the door closed securely before they headed down to Fuwa’s room. He picked his duffle bag up from inside the door, where he’d dropped it earlier in his haste to get back to Aruto’s office. He still needed to unpack his things. His clothes were probably a wrinkled mess by now, he thought, which meant he’d have to drag out the ironing board, and that just seemed like far too much effort. 

For the first time in days, his ankle ached, and he knew it was from the worried pacing he’d done across Aruto’s office, while Horobi had been under Izu’s care. At least he’d gotten ibuprofen, he thought, silently relieved, then he froze.

How was he going to hide the condoms and lube he’d bought, now that he suddenly had guests?

“Make yourselves at home. I just need to put my things away…”

“Oh! I wanna see your room!” Jin exclaimed, turning away from where he’d been examining one of the paintings on the wall. “And papa should be in bed, too.”

Fuwa felt his face heat up. “He…what?”

“Papa’s sick, right? And when humans are sick, they stay in bed. So papa will feel better if he’s in bed, too, right?” Jin said, as if the explanation made perfect sense. “Fuwafuwa-san probably has a really big bed, too, right? So there’s lots of room!”

Fuwa noticed an amused look in Horobi’s eyes throughout the conversation, and he decided not to press matters. “All right. It’s just through here.”

Fuwa stepped into the bedroom and flipped on the light switch, glad that it wasn’t a mess. Hiden had a housekeeping service that came through when there were people staying in the rooms, but since only two were in use, and they weren’t businessmen, the service only came a few times a week. Fuwa didn’t mind; he wasn’t compulsively neat, but he kept his surroundings tidy. 

He hung his coat in the closet, setting his bag out of the way so Jin, who was too busy looking around the room, wouldn’t trip over it. Horobi lingered in the doorway as if he’d never been in the room before.

“Ah…sorry. Come on in, Horobi. Um…there’s a USB port on this nightstand, if you want to use this side. It’ll be easier for you to charge,” Fuwa said, fully aware he had to sound like a fool. He’d hoped to have Horobi in his bedroom again, but he hadn’t been expecting it to be like _this_.

Jin seemed to have explored the entire room, and he moved over to sit in the small easy chair that sat adjacent to the bed, watching Horobi with worried eyes as he sat on the mattress, easing himself back against the pillows that Fuwa had placed against the headboard behind him.

Fuwa moved over to his bag, rummaging around until he found one of the bags from the conbini, and thankfully it was the one with the ibuprofen. He took it, and the bag of his meager food choices, excused himself, and went into the kitchen area. He left the chips and cup noodles in the bag on the counter, but stowed all but one of the energy drinks in the fridge. He filled a glass with water and popped two of the ibuprofen into his mouth, drained the glass of water, then unscrewed the cap on the energy drink and took a long drink, emptying the small bottle in one go.

He wondered if he should get an actual meal. When had he last _had_ one? But having two Humagears as company would make things a little awkward, wouldn’t it? Would it be rude? But in the end, his grumbling stomach won out, and he picked up the menu for the room service that the Hiden cafeteria provided, skipping past pages of fancier food in favor of something simple. Maybe something big enough for there to be leftovers. He finally decided on a soup and sandwich combo, and called to put the order in.

With that done, he went back into the bedroom, peering in to see Horobi leaning against the pillows, eyes closed. Either he was just resting, or he’d gone into sleep mode. He wasn’t charging; his charge cable was still sitting on the small bedside table.

And it was sitting right next to the bottle of lube that he’d, for some foolish reason, left sitting prominently on the table’s surface.

Fuwa wanted to dive across the room and stuff the bottle into a drawer, but what was the point? If Horobi’s charge cable had been placed beside the bottle, then chances were that it had already been spotted. Still, it was so embarrassing, as if he’d left it there like a trophy, or that he was hopeful that they’d get to use it again.

He nearly groaned aloud. God, but he was an idiot.

“Oh, Fuwafuwa-san!” Jin said, his voice hushed. “Papa’s resting a little bit, but he’s ok. Jin’s been keeping careful watch over him.”

Fuwa smiled. “You’re doing a great job, Jin. Horobi’s lucky to have such a caring son.”

A look of surprise flitted across Jin’s face, followed by the most brilliant smile Fuwa had ever seen. “Jin’s trying. Jin…Jin wants papa to be happy and safe. Jin wants those things, too.”

“We’re all doing our best to make sure that wish comes true for you both. I’ll do everything I can to keep you both safe,” Fuwa stated, holding his pinkie out to Jin.

Jin tilted his head. “What are you…oh! That’s…um…a pinkie promise..? Right?” he asked. When Fuwa nodded, he extended his own pinkie, hooking it around Fuwa’s, grinning. “And you gotta keep your promise, too!”

“I will,” Fuwa replied, and he realized with a start that he meant it. He’d wanted to protect the two Humagears since the start, when they’d been nothing more than victims that AIMS had taken in. But somehow, along the way, that desire to protect them had become even more fierce. Perhaps it was due to his developing feelings for Horobi. Perhaps it was his desire to see them both grow and flourish in an environment that wasn’t enslaving them. 

There was a loud rapping at the door, and Jin yelped.

“It’s ok. I had to order something to eat, and they were going to bring it up. Stay in here with Horobi, ok?” Fuwa said, then stepped out of the bedroom and went to the door, peering through the peephole. He saw a middle-aged woman holding a tray in the hallway, and he slowly opened the door. Just because someone looked unassuming, didn’t always mean that they were, and he refused to take any chances.

The smells coming from the tray couldn’t be faked, and his stomach growled again. “Thank you for bringing it up,” Fuwa said. He knew he wouldn’t be charged for the meal since he was a guest, but he slipped the woman a tip anyway, smiling at her surprised words of thanks. Apparently the businessmen who sometimes stayed here weren’t very generous, he mused, as she handed over a takeout-style container with his sandwich, a thick plastic container containing his soup, as well as a small container of salad and a roll. After thanking the woman once again, he closed the door and turned the deadbolt lock (he doubted anyone would be able to break in without being heard, but why not be extra cautious?), then deposited his food on the dining table near the kitchen, and he placed a mug under the coffeemaker's spout to get some hot water for tea before peering into the bedroom again.

Jin had returned to watching Horobi, his knees drawn up to his chest, his shoes sitting on the floor beside the chair. When he saw movement by the door, his head jerked up, but he visibly relaxed when he saw Fuwa in the doorway.

“I’m going to eat, and then I can take over if you wanted to watch TV or anything,” Fuwa offered.

Jin nodded. “Ok.”

Fuwa turned to leave, and Jin called, “Hey, how come your room comes with lube and ours didn’t?”

He was suddenly very thankful that Jin couldn’t see his face, which had surely gone bright red. And perhaps he was imagining things, but he thought he heard a soft snort of laughter come from Horobi, before the Humagear stated, “Jin, the room we are using doesn’t have a bed. That would probably be why."

“Hmm…I guess,” Jin replied, then the room was silent again.

Fuwa made his tea and tucked into his meal, amazed at how delicious such a simple meal could taste after…well, after eating like a bachelor. All he’d bought at the conbini was potato chips and cup noodles, for goodness sake. True, he was limited in what he could make with only a microwave, but microwavable dinners were also an option. Or even soups; he could buy packets of miso soup and add boiling water heated in the coffeemaker. Heck, couldn’t you even make scrambled eggs in a mug in a microwave? Or he could simply go with salads, fruit, or bentos. He decided that he should really see about going to an actual supermarket and see about getting some healthier options.

He ate about half of everything, then put the leftovers in the fridge for another day. He ducked into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face, frowning at the dark circles beneath his eyes. 

When he returned to the bedroom, Jin got up from the chair, picking up his boots. 

“Go ahead and watch TV if you’d like. The table is pretty big if you want to use it for drawing, and the couch looks pretty comfortable. If anyone knocks, come get me, ok? I doubt anyone else will be coming up, and I want to be extra cautious.”

Jin nodded. “Because you’re protecting us, right?”

“Exactly,” Fuwa said. “You have your charge cable?”

“Uh huh. And all my stuff,” Jin said, picking up his things. Horobi’s change of clothes had been set neatly on top of the dresser. “I’m gonna draw you some nice pictures while I watch TV.”

Fuwa smiled as Jin left the room, then his gaze slid to Horobi, who had a small smile on his lips. “I knew you weren’t in sleep mode.”

“I might have just woken up,” Horobi murmured, opening his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Fuwa couldn’t help asking, sitting on the mattress beside Horobi.

“Not enough time has passed for there to be any significant difference,” Horobi stated.

“Yeah…I suppose so,” Fuwa sighed, feeling Horobi’s fingers brush against his hand.

“I should lecture you for allowing my son to see that lube.”

Fuwa felt his face heat up, and he spluttered, “I-I didn’t do it purposely! That’s just…where it’s been since…”

The corners of Horobi’s lips lifted into a smile, and Fuwa couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something so wonderful. “Keep it. You never know when you might need such a thing.”

“I even bought more,” Fuwa blurted, then groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Jesus…I need to stop talking…I’m clearly too tired to think straight.”

Horobi’s hand moved to pat the mattress beside him. “Then sleep. Even if you’re guarding us, you need to be well-rested, or you’ll be of no use.”

“Thanks.”

“Jin is no fool. If there’s something suspicious, he’ll come to inform you. He likes you…he trusts you. So do I,” Horobi stated.

“I should hang up my clothes…or take these ones off and find my sweatpants,” Fuwa said, even though the very thought sounded like more he wanted to deal with. He’d be wearing a wrinkled suit tomorrow, or he’d have to get up early to iron. Thank goodness he had more energy drinks, and there were still several coffee pods tucked beside the coffeemaker. Caffeine would be a must if he had to have an early start to his day.

“You could just take those ones off,” Horobi suggested. When Fuwa made a half-hearted sound of agreement, Horobi reached over to pull the covers back, then switched the light off, tugging Fuwa onto the mattress beside him, hearing a small sound of surprise leave his lips.

Warm fingers brushed against Fuwa’s skin as his sweater was drawn upward, and he shifted slightly so Horobi could pull it off.

“Horobi..?”

“I don’t dare do anything with you right now. Not while Jin is in the next room…and not until I’m back to normal operating speeds,” Horobi murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to Fuwa’s collarbone. “Whenever we can be alone…”

“When we’re alone, I want…I want you to…”

Horobi unfastened Fuwa’s jeans, feeling him shift and work the denim down his legs, then he registered the sound of the garment hitting the floor. “What do you want? You have to tell me.”

“I want you to take me next time,” Fuwa said in a breathless rush.

“That…will be a first,” Horobi murmured, his fingers brushing against Fuwa’s arm. “I have never been allowed to penetrate anyone.”

“Well, I’ve never _been_ penetrated, so it’ll be firsts all around,” Fuwa said, then trailed off. “Why the hell am I still talking?”

Horobi’s lips met his, effectively silencing him and muffling his small sound of surprise. Fuwa eagerly parted his lips when he felt Horobi’s tongue prodding at them, whimpering softly when he felt the Humagear’s fingers sliding past the waistband of his underwear, brushing against the base of his shaft, his hips moving further up into the touch…

“Papa? Fuwafuwa-san?” Jin’s voice came from the doorway. “Huh? The light won’t turn on!”

Fuwa felt Horobi wrap him in the covers, and he was lost in such a sleepy, lust-filled haze, he simply went along with it, his eyes lulling shut.

Then the light on the bedside table was switched on, and Fuwa blinked at the sudden brightness.

“Did something happen?” Horobi asked.

“I thought I heard a weird noise…and it wasn’t the TV, and nobody knocked…”

“Agent Fuwa went to sleep a little while after you went to watch TV, and he may have been having a bad dream. I heard it as well, but he seems to be all right now,” Horobi said, keeping his voice low, as if Fuwa really were sleeping.

“Oh…ok. Poor Fuwafuwa-san…I hope his dreams get happier so he has a good night’s sleep. I’m gonna go back and watch TV. Don’t forget to plug in to charge, papa,” Jin said. “Good night.”

“Good night, Jin,” Horobi murmured, switching the light off once again, his hand trailing across Fuwa’s back.

To his surprise, a soft snore echoed in the room.

Horobi drew the covers closer around Fuwa. It was just as well, he supposed; they shouldn’t engage in any sexual activities while Jin was close enough to hear them. When the time came, Horobi wanted to hear every sound that left Fuwa’s lips, with no need to stifle them.

He settled back against the pillows, laying them flat on the bed, before he plugged in his charger and slipped the cord into his ear port.

Horobi felt Fuwa shift in his sleep, rolling over and curling up close, and he laid his hand on top of Fuwa’s as he slipped back into sleep mode.


	22. Chapter 22

When Fuwa next opened his eyes, the room was pitch black, and he blinked sleepily, trying to catch a glimpse of the small clock on the dresser, but it had been jostled at some point and now faced away from the bed.

He groaned, deciding to just grab his cell phone to check the time, and rolled over, frowning in tired confusion when he bumped against something. Had the blankets gotten tangled up while he slept? Or had one of the pillows tried to make a break for it? No matter; he shifted, leaning over the mass, still fumbling blindly for his phone.

Fingers trailed slowly, ticklishly up his spine, and Fuwa sucked in a sharp breath.

“What are you up to?” a familiar voice whispered.

Shit…he’d forgotten that Horobi was in the bed with him! Fuwa realized he was definitely half sprawled across him, and he started to move away. “Sorry, I…wasn’t quite awake.”

Horobi’s hand moved up to trail through Fuwa’s hair, the touch so gentle and reverent that it sent a pleasant jolt through his body. His hand settled at the back of Fuwa’s neck, drawing him down, and their lips met, a soft hum echoing in Horobi’s throat.

When they parted, his lips brushed against Fuwa’s ear. “It’s been quiet for about an hour…I believe Jin has gone into sleep mode to charge.”

His fingers moved down Fuwa’s back, and he shivered, feeling goosebumps raising wherever Horobi touched.

“If we were alone right now…”

“I know,” Fuwa murmured. He wouldn’t have felt comfortable having sex while Jin was out in the living room, and he knew that Horobi felt the same way. Even if his body screamed in protest at not being touched right at that very moment.

Horobi shifted on the mattress, and Fuwa felt him slip beneath the covers, moving close until their bodies were practically touching, his hand resting on Fuwa’s hip.

“We can’t be intimate right now…but I would still like to touch you,” Horobi murmured.

A soft whimper echoed in Fuwa’s throat as Horobi’s fingers slid past the waistband of his boxer briefs, drawing them slowly downward, and his hands fumbled for Horobi’s jeans, bumping against his hips in his haste.

“Do you think you can stay quiet enough?” Horobi murmured.

A needy sound left Fuwa’s lips as he unfastened Horobi’s jeans, feeling him shift and assist in pulling them downward. “I’ll cover my mouth if I have to. I don’t care. I just…I need to feel you.”

Horobi shifted closer, and Fuwa felt his shaft slide slowly against his own. God, he wanted to draw the covers back, wanted to see those enticing lights again!

“What are you thinking?” Horobi breathed against his ear, his fingers encircling their lengths, slowly coaxing them to full hardness. “Your heartbeat just went wild for a moment.”

Fuwa could feel heat rising in his cheeks, and he buried his face against the softness of Horobi’s sweater.

“Tell me,” Horobi continued, his fingers running lazily along their shafts. “I want to know what will bring you the most pleasure when we can be together again.”

Fuwa exhaled shakily, but for some reason, still hesitated to speak. He didn’t want Horobi to think him strange—or, even worse, to feel objectified, simply because Fuwa was so fascinated by the lights.

“Were you thinking about how it will feel?” Horobi asked, rolling his hips against Fuwa’s, his free hand drifting down to cup his backside and bring him closer. “Have you ever been rimmed?”

Fuwa pressed his hand against his mouth, effectively muffling the desperate moan that threatened to escape his lips, and he felt his cock twitch under Horobi’s touch.

“Do you like that idea?” Horobi continued. “You can whisper, and I’ll hear you.”

When Fuwa trusted himself to speak, he lowered his hand. “I’ve…never had that done to me before.”

“So this will be another first?” Horobi murmured, and Fuwa could practically hear the smile in his voice. “I can’t promise that I will be good at it…but I can always access the network for more information.”

“Don’t go getting another batch of viruses, trying to do research on porn sites,” Fuwa blurted, thankful that he’d remembered to keep his voice low.

After a beat, they both laughed softly, and Horobi leaned in to press his lips to Fuwa’s. “That still doesn’t answer the question of your increased heartbeat before.” His fingers ran the lengths of their shafts again. “Were you thinking about this?”

Horobi drew Fuwa’s hand downward, shivering when his fingers brushed against his shaft. “Were you thinking about the lights disappearing into your body?” He could feel Fuwa’s body tremble against his own, and once again, his heart thumped irregularly. “That’s it, isn’t it?” He leaned in until his lips brushed against Fuwa’s earlobe. “I’ll make sure you can watch them go in. One. By. One.”

Fuwa’s hand went over his mouth once again, smothering a whimper, and his hips rolled against Horobi’s, drawing a soft moan from his lips. 

“Isamu…” Horobi breathed, before his lips descended on Fuwa’s. He began stroking them both, his fingers kneading the soft flesh of Fuwa’s ass, hearing more soft sounds echoing in his throat.

When they parted, Fuwa leaned in to brush his lips across Horobi’s neck, where he knew his ID code rested, and a shaky gasp left the Humagear’s lips as he nipped at the skin. Fuwa wrapped an arm around Horobi, thrusting shallowly against his hand, and he was unable to hold back a choked sound of pleasure as he came.

They both froze, as if expecting Jin to be awakened by the sound and come running, but when things remained quiet, Fuwa breathed a sigh of relief. 

“You need to cum, too,” he murmured, guiding Horobi’s fingers from where he still cradled them both, and began to slowly pump him, enjoying the breathless sounds of pleasure he made. After only a few motions, Horobi groaned softly, and Fuwa felt a few splatters land on his stomach.

They remained trembling in each other’s embrace for some time, before Horobi drew back, and Fuwa felt the mattress shift. He knew that he should clean up and locate his discarded underwear, but god, he felt too blissed out to even consider moving.

Something warm wiped across his stomach, and Fuwa made a soft, confused sound.

“I’ve got you, Isamu. Just rest.”

Fuwa couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “ _You're_ the one who’s supposed to be resting,” he murmured, sighing softly as the washcloth—yes, that was definitely what it was—trailed across his skin yet again, wiping away all traces of their release. He fumbled around beneath the covers until he located his underwear, and tugged them back on, feeling utterly spent by that small movement.

He heard Horobi’s soft footfalls, then he was sitting on the mattress, on top of the covers once again, as he had been before their little romp. Fuwa couldn’t help but shift closer, and he felt Horobi’s hand reaching for his own. He curled up close to Horobi’s inviting warmth, his eyes lulling closed once again, and he was asleep within minutes.

*

“Papa! Fuwafuwa-san! Do you know what today is?” Jin’s voice suddenly announced, and Fuwa was wrenched from his slumber. It felt as though he’d just closed his eyes, but the sun was beginning to shine brightly on the other side of the blinds.

“Huh? Fuwafuwa-san, why are you hugging papa?”

Fuwa tensed, realizing that he was still pressed up against Horobi’s side, his arm draped across his waist. At least they weren’t still holding hands, he thought to himself; _that_ would be harder to explain.

“Humagears _do_ run significantly warmer than humans, Jin, and it’s the middle of winter,” Horobi stated. “I believe agent Fuwa simply found himself drawn to the heat while he slept.”

“Hmm…I guess.”

“Sorry,” Fuwa mumbled as he fought to emerge from beneath the covers.

“It’s of little concern,” Horobi replied, but when their eyes met, Fuwa could tell that they were both already missing the contact.

“What time is it?” Fuwa asked, barely able to stifle a yawn, as he looked around for his cell. “Crap…I didn’t plug my phone in last night.” Reluctantly sliding out of the bed, he fumbled for his discarded clothing, finding his cell snug in his jeans pocket, with barely any battery left. He swore softly, plugging it in to charge, while he gathered the clothes up and added them to the others that he needed to see about getting cleaned. Another thing he needed to see about acquiring was a cloth hamper, or something where he could keep his dirty clothes until they could be cleaned. Too bad Hiden didn’t have a laundry room on the floor…but then again, businessmen were probably too self-important to feed coins into a washing machine and fold their own underwear, he supposed.

First order of business: he needed a shower and to make himself presentable. Then, coffee. He needed to find a moment today to go out and buy food and some other necessities. He was sure Aruto would offer to have someone do it for him, but Fuwa felt uncomfortable being waited on like that. At the same time, though, he reminded himself that he was supposed to be away visiting his grandmother, so he would have to go out in disguise.

That reminded him of his duffle bag, and the clothes he’d never put away. He crossed over to where the bag lay, rummaging around to withdraw the shirts and slacks he’d packed, sighing at how wrinkled they were. He’d have to iron them before he got dressed.

“Fuwafuwa-san, how come you always wear the same thing?” Jin asked, perched on the edge of the bed, having been watching Fuwa as he’d silently worked through his thoughts.

“Hmm? Well…because it’s professional, I guess, and AIMS requires business casual clothing,” Fuwa replied, taking the rest of his things out—minus the bag containing the condoms and lube—and stowing them in the dresser.

“But…you aren’t working right now, are you?”

Fuwa paused as he draped a necktie over a hangar in the closet. 

“Jin thinks you looked nicer yesterday. You should dress like that more, don’t you think, papa?” Jin continued, looking at Horobi.

“Well, agent Fuwa’s wardrobe choices are up to him,” Horobi stated.

“Fuwafuwa-san should go clothes shopping. He doesn’t have a lot of stuff. See?” Jin said, as Fuwa slid the ironing board out, and laid his wrinkled clothes on it. “Just the same boring things!”

“Jin…”

“OH! I almost forgot!” Jin said. “Did you know…that today…is Valentine’s Day?”

Fuwa nearly dropped the iron, but Horobi only gave Jin a confused look. 

Jin grinned, clearly pleased to have a little knowledge that Horobi didn’t. “It’s a holiday where humans give chocolate to the person they like! Jin wants to give chocolate to Aruto! But…Jin doesn’t have any chocolate to give. Or money.”

Fuwa paused as he worked the wrinkles out of one of his shirts. “I need to see about getting a better selection of food for myself, and a few other odds and ends…I could see if there are any of those chocolate-making kits left at the supermarket. I think you can make it just using a microwave.”

“You’d…do that for Jin?” 

“Well, sure. Why not? I’ll be there anyway, it’s no trouble,” Fuwa said, holding up the shirt to look it over. Satisfied with its appearance, he hung it up, and started on the second one.

“Fuwafuwa-san is so nice,” Jin said with a sniffle. “Jin likes Fuwafuwa-san, too! But not like…to kiss or anything. But maybe Jin should make chocolate for you, too. Papa, don’t you like Fuwafuwa-san, too? We can both make him chocolate!”

“I-it’s ok, you don’t have to…I don’t usually eat sweets,” Fuwa protested weakly, noticing the amused look that Horobi was directing at him. 

“More importantly,” Horobi said, “shouldn’t you see about putting on some clothing?”

Fuwa frowned; he was working on it! And it wasn’t like he was naked, he was still wearing…

He was only wearing a pair of boxer briefs, while he was ironing his clothes. It was something he was used to doing in his apartment, but he was in a room with Horobi and Jin. And, now that Horobi had brought it up, Jin was covering his eyes, not wanting to look too closely.

Feeling incredibly embarrassed, Fuwa unplugged the iron, then scooped up his discarded jeans from the previous day, one of the freshly pressed shirts, clean socks and underwear, before dashing past the Humagears and into the bathroom. 

Before he swung the door closed, he saw Horobi’s eyes wandering lazily over his body, and a small smile flitted across his lips.

*

Once he was clean and dressed, Fuwa made himself a cup of coffee, putting it into one of the optional travel cups, and grabbed the leftover roll from his dinner the night before. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but it would have to do.

He retrieved his phone from where it was charging, glad to see that the battery had charged considerably, and he called Aruto’s cell, wanting to check to see if the Humagears could spend a little time in the lab or office while he ran his errands.

“Is that a good idea? I can always send someone out to get whatever you need…” Aruto began.

“I know, and I appreciate it, but I’m not anyone important. Won’t it cause a fuss with the vice president if he finds out that you’ve got someone fetching groceries for the suspended AIMS agent?”

Aruto sighed. “It might. But I was thinking more about how you’re supposedly at your sick grandmother’s right now. There’s a good supermarket not too far from here, but…you could still be spotted. Unless…” He trailed off for a bit before continuing, “I’ve got it taken care of, Fuwa-san, don’t worry! No one will recognize you. I have some stuff you can use. Come down whenever you’re ready. I’ll call a cab for you then, too.”

Aruto hung up, and Fuwa glanced at the phone in concern, before slipping it into his pocket.

*

Less than half an hour later, Fuwa and the Humagears arrived at Aruto’s office. Horobi went with Izu to browse the printouts of the information they’d hacked from AIMS’ database, and Jin seated himself in the corner of the lab, out of the way, scribbling away in his sketchbook.

Aruto waved Fuwa over to his desk, where several items sat. The first was an average mask that one would wear when sick. The second was a plain black baseball cap. And the third was a hoodie that looked to have come from Aruto’s own collection, given the nonsensical English written across the front. 

“I figure with all of these, you’ll look so unlike _you_ , that you should be able to go out unrecognized,” Aruto stated. “Let’s see…I’ll call for a cab, and I’ll take care of the bill for them, at least. You’ll need your crutch, right? I’m sure you were considering going out without it. This way, I’ll have the cab wait for you to come back, so you won’t need to walk any more than necessary, or wait. Do you have cash to use at the supermarket? It’s probably a stretch, but if they’re watching any charges to your account…”

Fuwa nodded. “Then they’d see exactly where I am. Crap…”

“I thought so. Here,” Aruto said, holding an envelope out to him. “Even if you aren’t officially on Hiden payroll, I wanted to do something for you.”

Fuwa peered into the envelope, surprised to find quite a bit of cash in it. “This is too much, I couldn’t…”

“Fuwa-san, please. I hate thinking negatively, but honestly? I don’t see this having a good outcome. Things within AIMS seem incredibly fishy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone behind the scenes is keeping them from investigating the brothel case further. But I’m still serious about hiring you on for security here. So this can be an advance for then. Ok?”

Fuwa hesitated, then nodded, putting the cash into his wallet. “I intend to pay you back for this. But thank you.”

Aruto smiled, patting Fuwa’s shoulder. “If you want to head downstairs, I’ll call for the cab now, and take care of payment. I’ll have my cell on in case there’s any issues.”

Fuwa nodded, then headed out of the office.

*

A little over an hour later, Fuwa returned to Hiden Intelligence with a large canvas shopping bag slung over his shoulder. He’d figured that investing in a reusable shopping bag would be useful while he was staying there, and he’d filled it with as much as he could carry. He’d found a small foldable cloth hamper so he could keep his dirty clothes in one spot (and he’d spoken to Aruto to arrange for a day for the whole thing to be taken out for cleaning. He’d need to invest in more clothes at this rate, but that was a problem for another day).

He’d been glad to see some of the microwavable chocolate-making kits on display at the front of the store, and he’d grabbed one immediately, not wanting to forget it. He could tell that Jin was looking forward to making chocolate for Aruto, and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

He’d spent time browsing the frozen section with microwavable meals, then the produce section. He’d gotten a bag of salad mix, chicken skewers, assortments of pickled vegetables, instant miso soup, and some mixed fruit salads. He was determined to eat more balanced meals than he had been, but that didn’t stop him from getting a few small bags of potato chips.

He’d wondered if he should get some kind of small gifts for Jin and Horobi for Valentine’s Day, but it would be difficult, since they were Humagears. Chocolate couldn’t be consumed. Jin already had plenty of art supplies. And what did Horobi even like?

He knew what he wanted to give Horobi for Valentine’s Day. Or whatever day they could be alone together. Fuwa was suddenly grateful for the mask, as he felt his face flush.

Fuwa hadn’t expected the supermarket to be so busy, but it was a holiday, he supposed, and the lines were a little longer than he’d anticipated. The cab waited outside for him, though, so he didn’t mind. His ankle protested mildly as he walked back out to the cab, but he figured that he could use the crutch as soon as they returned to Hiden Intelligence.

He sent Aruto a text on the way back, and once they arrived, he held out a tip to the driver, but he waved the bill away. “Mr. Hiden has taken care of it all, sir. Thank you.”

Fuwa made sure to have his badge handy at the door, since he was still in his disguise, then made his way to the elevator, thankful that it was empty. He wanted to go straight up to his room and drop everything off, and when he stepped out on the top floor, he blinked in surprise when he saw Horobi, Jin, and Aruto waiting for him.

“I figure this would be easier than making another trip down,” Aruto stated. “Jin was really happy to hear that you were back.”

Fuwa tugged the mask off, thanking Aruto, offering to shrug the hoodie off so Aruto could have it back right then, but he waved it off, saying Fuwa could hang onto it in case he needed to go out again.

“Did you get it?” Jin asked, barely able to contain his excitement as Aruto headed for the elevator. When Fuwa smiled and handed the kit over to him, Jin grinned broadly. “Yay! Can we make it now? Oh, wait…it’s lunch time, right? That’s what Aruto said. Um…after you eat? Please??”

“Sure. That way, if we mess up, we’ll still have time to try again,” Fuwa said.

Jin looked pleased at the thought of making the chocolate, and Fuwa saw Horobi watching their interaction with a small smile.

When they entered the room, Horobi took a seat on the sofa, and Fuwa felt guilty for a moment that he’d had the Humagear moving around when he was supposed to still be resting. “Horobi, how are you feeling?”

“I believe I have recovered,” Horobi replied, and Fuwa noticed that his voice sounded as though it were back to normal. He didn’t miss the grateful smile that Horobi directed at him, and Fuwa felt his heart skip a beat.

Jin sat next to Horobi, very carefully reading the instructions on the chocolate kit’s package, while Fuwa put away his groceries, then set up the hamper and dumped his dirty clothes into it. Aruto said someone would pick them up the next day, and he was grateful for that, since one day’s clothes were all he had left.

With that taken care of—and since he was by himself in the room—Fuwa slipped the condoms and lube out of his duffle bag, and put them in the drawer of the bedside table, along with the smaller bottle. They didn’t need to be sitting out for the housekeeping service to see, but Fuwa _did_ want them close at hand, just in case. He folded the duffle bag up and place it on the wire rack running across the top of the closet, and slid the door shut.

It was definitely time for lunch, Fuwa realized. He hadn’t been able to completely give up on noodle bowls, and he’s gotten one while he was out, but he planned to tear up a few of the chicken skewers he’d gotten and add them at the end. He fixed another cup of coffee to have with his lunch, and his company was the only thing keeping him from falling on the meal like a starving man.

How had he been managing to go an entire day with only one meal, he wondered, slurping up another mouthful of noodles. He’d practically been living on cheap cup noodles and energy drinks for _how_ long now? 

When he’d finished eating, he sighed in contentment, finishing his coffee and putting the mug in the dishwasher. He’d barely finished throwing his garbage out, before Jin was inching closer, holding the kit in his hands.

Fuwa flicked on an extra light in the kitchen and waved him over. “All right, let’s see about making this chocolate.”

Jin grinned, barely able to contain his excitement as they opened the box up, taking out what they needed, and read the instructions carefully. After a bit, Horobi wandered over, as they waited for the chocolate to melt. Since Jin was focused on watching the bowl slowly rotate in the microwave, Horobi placed his hand on Fuwa’s waist, drawing him close for just a moment, before stepping away, and Fuwa began to wonder if he’d just dreamed it.

When the microwave beeped, Jin took the bowl out, carefully stirring the chocolate, nodding when he saw that it was free of lumps. With the heart-shaped plastic mold sitting on the counter, he began to pour the chocolate in, being careful to not waste a single drop. When he was done, he handed the bowl to Horobi, whispering something very seriously, before he slid the second mold over to him, watching carefully as Horobi poured the rest of the chocolate into it.

Once they were done, Fuwa checked the box. “Ok, they need to set for about an hour, and then they can come out of the molds.”

“That’s such a long time!” Jin said. “Oh! Can we draw? Or does Fuwafuwa-san have work to do or something?”

Fuwa shook his head. “My job right now is watching over you two, and making sure you’re safe, so...since everything seems to be under control, I think spending a little time drawing is allowed.” 

Jin excitedly went to get his sketchbook and crayons, and they all seated themselves at the coffee table as Jin carefully tore sheets of paper out and handed them to Fuwa and Horobi, then dumped the crayons out. 

Jin set to drawing right away. Horobi regarded his sheet of paper in thought. Fuwa picked up a blue crayon that had rolled close to him, then started to doodle a picture of a wolf. It wasn’t very good—he’d never been that good at drawing, and he’d been a child the last time he’d put a crayon to paper—but wasn’t this supposed to be good for relaxing? Jin was drawing all the time, and he was one of the most relaxed people he knew, even if he was a Humagear.

Time seemed to flow by like water in a pond, and the hour had nearly passed when Jin finally said, “What did you draw?”

Fuwa showed him the picture of the wolf, which he’d embellished with a large full moon in the sky, and a field of dark grass. That had been the only picture he’d drawn; the other sheet contained multi-colored swirls covering the surface. It was strange…drawing the swirls seemed to draw all of the stress and tension out of his body, and Fuwa felt more relaxed now than he had in…years, he supposed. 

“I like it,” Jin said. “It’s pretty. Can…Jin keep it?”

“Of course,” Fuwa said. “Are you going to hang it up in your room?”

“Yeah!”

Fuwa smiled, feeling oddly warm. Was this what it was like when a child had their artwork hung on the family refrigerator? 

“What did you draw, Jin?” 

“I made Aruto a card to go with his chocolate,” Jin stated proudly. “But it’s private, so you can’t read it!”

Fuwa saw Horobi give him a strange look, but he just nodded. “I bet he’ll really like it. Horobi, what did you draw?”

Horobi seemed to hesitate for a moment, before he slid two pieces of paper across the table. Each sheet was a portrait; one of Jin, and one of Fuwa, and they were incredibly detailed.

“Wow…these are amazing,” Fuwa breathed. “And you did these in less than an hour?”

“You forget, I was assembling Humagears for years. I was allowed, after some time, to sculpt the faces on my own. I would occasionally draw what I wanted to do, and then tried to recreate it,” Horobi explained.

“I wanna hang the picture of me next to Fuwafuwa-san’s picture,” Jin stated. “Oh…is it time to check the chocolates yet?”

The alarm Fuwa had set on his phone went off just then, and he nodded, shutting it off. “Let’s see how they’re doing.”

Jin followed Fuwa into the kitchen, and he very gently poked at the chocolate within his mold. Then poked it a bit more firmly. “I think it’s ready!” he declared, touching the outside of the plastic. “It’s not warm anymore, either. Oh, but…what am I gonna put it in after it comes out of the mold? I don’t want to mess it up or drop it.”

Fuwa reached into the bag that the kit had been in, and retrieved a small package of red foil bags, the perfect size for putting chocolates in. “Will this work?”

“Wow…Fuwafuwa-san thought of everything!” Jin exclaimed.

Fuwa set one of the bags on the counter, then stepped aside so Jin could work on freeing the chocolate from the mold. He worked it slowly and carefully, jiggling it loose, then let it slide into the bag. “It looks perfect,” he declared. “I hope Aruto likes it. And the card. Can we go downstairs so I can give it to him now? Please?”

“Well…I don’t see why not,” Fuwa said, checking the time.

“I can stay down there with Aruto and Izu for a while. Papa should still be resting, and he’s been up a whole bunch today. And Fuwafuwa-san looks tired, too. Jin can draw in the lab.”

“Only if you make sure to stay in the lab, and allow Hiden to do his work. It _is_ still within working hours for him,” Horobi stated, tying a ribbon around one of the gift bags with careful precision. 

“Yup! I just wanna give him the chocolate and the card, then I’ll draw and stuff,” Jin said. “I wanna hang the pictures up in our room first…is that ok?”

Horobi nodded. “Let’s do that first, and then we can head down.”

Fuwa grabbed his crutch from where it had been leaning against the wall, and picked his wallet up from the small table by the door, as he prepared to follow after Jin and Horobi.

Horobi, however, had paused in the doorway, and when Fuwa gave him a questioning look, the Humagear held out the foil bag he had been tying closed.

“Isn’t that Jin’s..?”

“This one is for you,” Horobi murmured, then leaned past him to set the bag down, before pressing his lips to Fuwa’s in a moment of shocking intensity, before drawing back.

“Papa? Aren’t you coming?” Jin’s voice echoed down the hallway.

“I was waiting for agent Fuwa,” Horobi replied, stepping out of the room.

Fuwa followed after them, taking a deep breath to calm his rapidly pounding heart, then made his way down the hall. By the time he reached Horobi and Jin’s room, Jin had already hung the pictures prominently on the wall beside the table he usually drew at, so they headed to the elevator and made their way to Aruto’s office for the second time that day.

Aruto looked a bit surprised to see them again, and Fuwa wished he’d thought to alert him that they were on their way down. It would have been awkward if he’d had work-related guests in the office…or downright disasterous if Amatsu Gai had decided to come sniffing around again.

Jin bounded across the room to whisper to Aruto, then he turned back to Fuwa and Horobi, shooing them away. “Go and rest up, Jin can borrow Aruto’s phone and call you later to come get me.”

Fuwa nodded, still wondering why Jin had been so eager to shoo the two of them away. Was he involved with Aruto? Did he truthfully only want to spend the time with Aruto because it was Valentine’s Day?

Or did Jin suspect that he and Horobi were..?

Shaking that thought out of his head, Fuwa followed Horobi back to the elevator, and they rode back up.

“You were very good with Jin today,” Horobi murmured. “I think you made him very happy, spending the time with him to make the chocolates.”

“It was fun,” Fuwa admitted, as the doors slid open, and they started down the hallway. “It was…cozy.”

They reached his room, and Fuwa unlocked the door, stepping inside and leaning his crutch against the wall. His gaze lingered on the chocolate that Horobi had given them before they’d left the room, and as the door clicked shut, it finally dawned on him.

They were alone.


	23. Chapter 23

Fuwa had expected Horobi to push him against the door as soon as it had closed and begin kissing him quite soundly, and when it didn’t happen, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed.

They were alone, and Fuwa was desperate for him. His touch. His lips. Anything.

The Humagear slid his shoes off, leaving them beside the door, and began to head toward the bedroom. That seemed to shake Fuwa out of his thoughts, and he slipped his own shoes off, taking a moment to run a hand through his unruly hair, before following after Horobi.

The bedroom was dark—who had drawn the blinds? It was only late afternoon—and he automatically reached for the light switch on the wall.

“Leave it.”

Fuwa sucked in a surprised breath, but did as he was asked. The lights he’d left on in the kitchen and living room earlier cast just enough of a glow into the room for him to see. Horobi surely had no issue, with his advanced settings, but Fuwa was only human.

Horobi was suddenly in front of him, and his fingers brushed against Fuwa’s, before continuing up his arms, over his shoulders and up his neck, until he was cupping Fuwa’s face with such care. Fuwa was unable to keep from rubbing his cheek against Horobi’s fingers, his own hands reaching out to rest on Horobi’s forearms.

Horobi’s lips met his, the touch so feather light that Fuwa couldn’t help but shiver. Horobi was kissing him so gently, so delicately, as if he were afraid that the moment wasn’t real, and if he moved too quickly, it would shatter like a piece of glass.

Fuwa understood; he felt the same way. He kept expecting someone to knock at the door, or his phone would start ringing, or there would be some other kind of crisis to deal with. But everything was blissfully quiet, save the sound of his pounding heart.

Horobi’s hands moved to tangle themselves in Fuwa’s hair, and Fuwa's arms trailed up to wrap around the Humagear’s shoulders, trying desperately to bring him closer, whimpers echoing softly in his throat.

Horobi turned, bringing Fuwa with him, his legs bumping against the mattress that was suddenly behind him, and he abruptly found himself sitting on the edge.

Horobi’s hands moved back down, pausing when they encountered the first button on Fuwa’s shirt, and suddenly it wasn’t fastened any longer. Horobi’s lips left Fuwa’s, moving down to press soft kisses to each new expanse of skin that was bared as he continued unfastening the buttons on Fuwa’s shirt.

Fuwa suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands. He wanted to touch Horobi, but at the same time, he was afraid of triggering unpleasant memories, given the situation.

“You can touch me, you know,” Horobi said, sounding somewhat amused, his breath warm and ticklish on Fuwa’s abs as he untucked the shirt from his jeans. “Take it off.”

The slightly authoritative tone of Horobi’s voice sent a pleasant jolt through Fuwa’s body, and he hurriedly complied, shrugging the shirt off and dropping it on the floor. He felt Horobi’s hand trail along his thigh, and he sucked in a shaky breath as the hand continued upward, fingers deliberately avoiding his hardening shaft, until they encountered his belt. With a few deft movements, it came undone, and Horobi slid it off, dropping it to the floor with a soft thud. 

Then his fingers were moving to the button and zipper on the jeans, and Fuwa couldn’t help but lift his hips into the touch. Horobi unfastened the garment at a maddeningly slow pace, still avoiding touching his shaft, and Fuwa was ready to beg for the slightest contact as he shifted, allowing Horobi to pull the jeans and his socks off, leaving him shivering in his boxer briefs.

“Horobi…” Fuwa breathed, reaching out to run his hands over his shoulders, fingers clutching desperately at his sweater. 

Horobi moved until he was on the mattress beside Fuwa, and his hands moved to the hem of his sweater, drawing it upward and off, before dropping it on the floor. Fuwa leaned in, his lips on Horobi’s neck, drawing a surprised gasp from the Humagear. He fumbled with Horobi’s jeans, his lips trailing to the juncture of Horobi’s neck and shoulder, and gave it a light nip. He felt Horobi’s head fall back, heard the breathy moan that left his lips, even as Fuwa struggled to remove his jeans. 

Horobi rose, removing the jeans, and then Fuwa felt his fingers at the waistband of his underwear, and he eagerly lifted his hips, wanting to be rid of that last garment.

Then Horobi was moving back onto the mattress, drawing Fuwa up with him, and the soft glow of the lights along his shaft caught Fuwa’s eye. Was he imagining things, or were they pulsing this time?

He couldn’t possibly wait any longer.

Fuwa coaxed Horobi onto his back, even as his fingers sought out his shaft, giving him a few slow strokes and drawing a soft moan from the Humagear. He dipped his head down, running his tongue along one row of lights, from base to tip, before moving on to the next, pleased at the sounds he was coaxing from Horobi’s lips.

Once his tongue had made several wet trails along Horobi’s length, Fuwa began to slowly take it into his mouth. He felt Horobi’s fingers in his hair, and heard his name whispered like a prayer. Fuwa felt as though he were being hypnotized by rhythmic pulsing of the lights, which seemed to have slowed a bit as he continued letting Horobi’s shaft slide further into his mouth.

His lips reached the base of Horobi’s shaft, and Fuwa made a small sound of surprise. The few times he’d done this with anyone, he’d…honestly had a difficult time with it. He’d figured it was his natural impatience at work, or perhaps his gag reflex, but he’d never been able to take anyone in deeply enough, and the entire act wasn’t something he was incredibly fond of. Even when he was on the receiving end…sure, he’d gotten hard from it, but he could have done without it. He’d wondered for a while if something was wrong with him, and then he’d simply stopped seeking out anyone for sex. It simply seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Even jerking off had become something he did infrequently; he could go for months without feeling the need.

But Horobi…

Fuwa drew back slowly, watching the lights reappear, and he swore that his heart was beating along with the rhythm of the pulsing lights. He slid his lips back down, eventually finding a pace that worked for him—and one that Horobi seemed to find enjoyable, if the soft sounds of pleasure coming from him meant anything.

Horobi’s fingers slipped from Fuwa’s hair, closing around the blankets, and he closed his eyes for just a moment. No one had ever done this for him before, even though he’d been expected to do it for any customer who desired it. No one had taken a moment to give him any semblance of pleasure. No one had seemed as enthralled by him as Fuwa was, in this moment. He felt as though his system could easily go into overload from the waves of pleasure that were coursing through his body.

Abruptly, Horobi’s body tensed, and a long moan flew from his lips as he came. He felt Fuwa swallow, then felt his lips drawing back, until they moved off his shaft.

Then Fuwa’s lips were on his own, and Horobi’s arms went around him, bringing him onto his lap as he hungrily deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past Fuwa’s parted lips.

Horobi had never felt eager about engaging in any sexual acts before, and it was understandable, since every single time had been against his will, from the first time Amatsu Gai and his cronies had forced themselves on him, to every single man who had visited his room at the brothel. He’d approached it all very robotically, simply wanting it to be over with as soon as possible. When he’d been freed, he’d sworn that no one would ever touch him again. He would be unapproachable.

But Fuwa had stuck around, and not only because he’d been assigned to the case. Horobi hadn’t been blind; he’d noticed the way Fuwa would look at him, then quickly look away, as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. Horobi had passed it off as humans all being disgusting creatures, all wanting the same thing from him. He remembered telling Fuwa that exact same thing, even though Fuwa had never made an inappropriate advance on him. 

“Horobi…” Fuwa breathed, his hands resting on the small of his back. “Please…”

Horobi drew Fuwa closer, burying his face in his shoulder, his hands trailing along Fuwa’s skin, trying to take in as much as possible, wanting to memorize every inch of his body.

He felt as though he were on the brink of losing himself.

Fuwa seemed to sense that Horobi needed a moment, and he simply held him, running his fingers through his hair in silent encouragement. He wondered if Horobi was feeling the same way he was, if his thoughts were taking the same long, painful path his were.

If he’d come to the same conclusion that Fuwa had, that the words he wanted to say seemed far too frightening. Too real.

Too _right_.

Finally, Horobi lifted his head, and his lips met Fuwa’s again, with an urgency that hadn’t been present before. His hands rested on Fuwa’s hips, bringing him closer, their shafts rubbing against one another.

Fuwa broke the kiss, a desperate moan leaving his lips, even as he pushed his hips forward, wanting to feel that connection once again.

“What do you want?” Horobi breathed against his ear. 

“Inside me…” Fuwa gasped. “Please…I need you…”

Horobi reached for the bedside table, frowning when his fingers didn’t encounter the bottle of lube that had been there earlier. “Where?”

“Drawer.”

Horobi laid Fuwa on his back, before reaching over to open the drawer and retrieve the lube, as well as the box of condoms.

“Just the lube,” Fuwa blurted. 

Horobi hesitated for a moment, then dropped the box back into the drawer. He didn’t produce much cum, so it wouldn’t be messy, at least.

He moved back between Fuwa’s legs, flicking open the lid on the bottle and pouring a generous amount of the lube onto his fingers. As desperate as he was to bury himself inside Fuwa, he wouldn’t do so until he was properly prepped. 

He trailed his fingertip across Fuwa’s entrance, feeling him shiver, and Horobi wondered if it was from the temperature of the lube, or if it was from anticipation.

The sound that Fuwa made when Horobi worked a finger into him was music to his ears, and he closed his eyes, trying to commit it to memory. He opened them again after just a moment, wanting to see every reaction Fuwa had, not wanting to miss even a single second.

Fuwa’s voice rose in wordless whimpers and gasps as he worked the finger in further, thrusting and curling it to work him into readiness, and Horobi didn’t think he’d ever been so hard in his entire life. Every sound Fuwa made seemed to travel directly to his groin, and he was so painfully hard, he worried that he wouldn’t last more than a moment after entering Fuwa.

A second finger followed, and eventually a third, and by then, Fuwa was clumsily squirming beneath him, trying to bring the fingers in deeper, or trying to wordlessly convey to Horobi that he was ready for more. Even so, Horobi continued working him, wanting to make absolutely certain that he was stretched enough to accommodate his cock, and it took them both by surprise when Fuwa came with a loud cry.

“Horobi…” he whimpered, his voice ragged. “Please…”

Horobi withdrew his fingers, hearing Fuwa’s soft whimper from the loss of contact. He reached back to retrieve one of the pillows by the headboard, working it beneath Fuwa’s hips. He worked some lube along his shaft as an extra precaution, then lifted one of Fuwa’s legs, propping it on his shoulder, as he lined himself up with his entrance. “Can you see?” he murmured.

“Yes,” Fuwa breathed, and Horobi could see his gaze locked on the lights. “Please please please…”

Horobi pressed forward, and the head of his shaft slid into Fuwa’s body. He watched Fuwa’s head drop back, his eyes fluttering closed as a soft “yes” left his lips, and he paused, waiting until Fuwa’s eyes were opened again.

He worked himself in a bit further, watching one row of lights slowly disappear into Fuwa’s body, and he heard a soft expulsion of breath come from him. “You like that?” he murmured.

“Yes…” Fuwa whimpered. “More…”

The next row disappeared, then the next, soft sounds of fascinated pleasure leaving Fuwa’s lips. This was entirely new to Horobi, and he couldn’t deny that he found it exciting, the way Fuwa was coming undone with every inch that sank into him.

When he was fully seated, he slowly drew back, Fuwa’s eyes hungrily following each light as it reappeared, until just the head was inside him. Then Horobi moved his hips, sliding back into him, just a bit faster this time, a long mewl of pleasure leaving Fuwa’s lips. 

“Just let go, Isamu. I’ve got you,” Horobi murmured. “I’ll take care of you.”

Horobi rocked against him, his pace slow at first as Fuwa’s eyes were locked on the lights, but as time passed, Horobi realized that Fuwa’s breathing and pulse had slowed a bit, until they matched the pulse of the lights. His thrusts went more deeply after some time, watching Fuwa’s eyes close and his head fall back against the mattress as his pace increased, hands fisting around the sheets as Horobi rocked against him.

It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

His pace increased again, and a loud cry left Fuwa’s lips when Horobi hit a spot inside him that made fireworks explode before his eyes. Horobi adjusted his thrusts to hit that spot again and again, hearing Fuwa’s voice grow ever louder, his back arching beneath him, until he came between their bodies, unable to believe that the sound he heard echoing in the room was coming from his own lips.

Then, moments later, Horobi’s hips stuttered against his as he came with a loud cry, before sagging on top of him.

“Horobi..?” Fuwa breathed. “Hey…are you ok?”

Horobi’s arms went around Fuwa, drawing him close, as if he were trying to merge their bodies into one, before pressing his lips gently to Fuwa’s. When the kiss ended, he drew back slightly, his gaze meeting Fuwa’s own, and even in the shadowy darkness, so many things seemed to pass between them in that one glance.

“I know,” Fuwa finally murmured, his arms going around Horobi and bringing him close. “I know…”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, IT SURE HAS BEEN THREE MONTHS SINCE AN UPDATE, HUH? I think I'd burned myself out doing those multiple chapter updates, and then I was trying to decide what the heck to do next, and I've been having a hard time writing lately, but I suddenly felt motivated today! I have a few chapters planned out! I hope the folks who have been enjoying this series are still out there! I'm going to try to be a little better at updating, but I'm completely at the whim of my brain here.

Jin had felt rather shy when Horobi and Fuwa had brought him to Aruto’s office, and he’d hidden the chocolate and card behind his back, not wanting to ruin the surprise until the right moment. 

Aruto had smiled warmly at him when he came into the room, and that alone felt so good to Jin. He was used to men directing leering smiles at him when they’d entered his room at the brothel, no doubt as they planned what they were going to do to him, but Aruto’s smiles were completely different. He always looked genuinely pleased to see Jin, and there was an underlying shyness when he smiled. It made Jin want to hug him tight, and kiss him until he was breathless, and then maybe do a few things with him somewhere private, preferably where there was a big bed involved.

But Jin was patient. He knew Aruto was working, and even though he was practically vibrating with excitement at the thought of presenting his gifts to Aruto, he would wait. 

“Sorry…I’ve still got a bunch of work, and the vice president and a few other people need to see me in a few minutes,” Aruto said, his voice apologetic. “Maybe an hour or so, and I’ll be done for the day.”

Jin nodded with a smile. “Then I’ll wait in the lab for you. Jin can draw a whole stack of pictures for you!” he declared.

“I’ll look forward to it, then,” Aruto replied. 

His words were so sincere that Jin wanted to give him a big kiss anyway, right there in front of God and Izu, but no, he would be good and wait until they were alone. He went into the lab, and after making certain that he had everything he’d need to keep himself occupied, Izu closed the lab off so Jin wouldn’t be visible to anyone who came into the office that afternoon.

Jin heard the occasional muffled sounds of voices as people came and went, but he didn’t really pay much attention to them. He was glad that he didn’t hear Horobi or Fuwa, especially since he’d sternly told them that they should both rest. He couldn’t help but grin at that thought. If his hunch was right, they probably weren’t doing much resting at all. But that was fine! True, Jin had wanted to see Aruto today, but he’d also wanted to give his father some time alone with Fuwa. “Papa probably thinks he’s being super sneaky about how he feels, but Jin sees how they look at each other,” Jin thought to himself, absently doodling hearts on the sheet of paper in front of him. “Jin wants papa to be happy. Papa deserves to be happy, and Fuwafuwa-san is super nice. And Jin…Jin wants to be happy, too. With Aruto.”

It would be so nice, he thought. When everything was over, and they were safe, really safe…being able to go places with Aruto. Holding his hand. Could they go on dates? Even just walking around outside would be so much fun. Jin had seen precious little of the outside world, thanks to the unfortunate events of his life, and the thought of simply walking around and taking in the sights sounded utterly fantastic. He abandoned his drawing in favor of leaning his head on his hands, closing his eyes and letting his thoughts wander.

Jin wasn’t certain how long his mind was occupied with thoughts of dates with Aruto, until he heard footfalls on the stairs, and he opened his eyes to see Aruto coming into the lab.

“Ah…were you in sleep mode? Sorry, that took a little longer than I thought it would…”

Jin shook his head. “Nope. I was just thinking,” he stated, getting to his feet and retrieving his gifts, holding them out to Aruto with a shy smile. “These are for you. Because it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Surprise crossed Aruto’s features, followed by a wide smile that had Jin smiling as well. “Really? For me?” Aruto said, accepting the chocolate and the card. “I haven’t gotten anything for Valentine’s Day since I was a little kid…oh wow, is this chocolate?”

“Yup! Fuwafuwa-san helped me make it,” Jin replied. “But I made the card all by myself.”

“Wow…it was good of Fuwa-san to help you. Thank you, Jin,” Aruto said, his attention shifting to the colorful card, opening it to read the inside, a light flush crossing his cheeks. “Oh! I have something for you, too.”

Jin blinked in surprise. “Really? For Jin?”

“Yup. Come to the office. The delivery guy brought it right when I was finishing up for the day. Great timing, huh?”

Jin followed Aruto back into the office, and Aruto gestured at a package sitting on the front of the desk. “Go ahead and open it.”

Jin hesitated for a moment, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest. His first present…and it was from Aruto, no less! On Valentine’s Day! But curiosity overtook him, and he carefully sliced through the tape on the box, and Aruto helped him withdraw the bundle that was swaddled in Styrofoam packaging. A few more slices through tape, and the packaging opened to reveal a round object about the size of Jin’s head. “What is it?” 

“Here, let’s get it plugged in for a sec…” Aruto murmured, withdrawing a USB cord and plugging it into the object, setting it on a wooden base, before plugging the other end into his computer. 

The sphere lit up with a soft glow, and Jin grinned in delight, watching it slowly cycle through different colors and brightness. “It looks like the moon!”

Aruto nodded. “I don’t know why, but…I saw it, and it made me think of you. It’ll be a nice little light to cheer up your room, don’t you think? Kind of like a nightlight.”

Jin blinked, knowing that his eyes were glistening, but he wasn’t sad. No…he was happy. So happy, and touched that Aruto had gotten him something so thoughtful. Was he malfunctioning?

“Jin?”

“I love it,” Jin said, meeting Aruto’s gaze. “Thank you, Aruto. Can…can we go upstairs so I can set it up? Please?”

“Well…sure, I don’t see why not,” Aruto said. “I’m all finished for the day.” He unhooked the cord, and Jin carefully scooped the orb into his arms, cradling it as if it were a newborn child. “Izu, we’ll be back in a bit!”

They headed for the elevator, riding it up to the top floor, and as soon as the doors slid open, Jin made a soft sound. “Oh…the key card is in Jin’s pocket…”

“Which pocket? I’ll get it,” Aruto said. 

“Um…my jeans. On the left.”

Oh…well, that would be interesting, Aruto thought to himself, feeling his face warm up. He carefully slid his fingers into the pocket (he hadn’t realized just how tight the jeans were until that moment, feeling Jin’s hip through the denim, plus he barely had any wiggle room without making things highly inappropriate), and thankfully felt the key card almost immediately. He carefully grasped the corner, trying to ignore how very intimate this was, and withdrew it from Jin’s pocket, pressing it against the door handle.

As soon as the light shone green and Aruto opened the door, Jin ducked into the room, eagerly heading for the small side table that sat beside a plush easy chair. Thanks to the abundance of USB ports in the room, Jin had the light plugged in and shining in mere moments, casting a cozy glow around the room.

“It’s perfect,” Aruto declared. “Not too bright, but you can see around…”

Aruto was cut off when Jin rose to his feet and took a step closer, his lips meeting Aruto’s in an abrupt, rather enthusiastic manner. He made a small sound of surprise before surrendering—after all, he’d been wanting to do this again, and he’d been thinking about it for days.

There was, however, the very real possibility that Horobi would hear something. Even though they were several rooms away, Humagear hearing was far superior to human hearing. What if the tiniest moan had Jin’s father kicking in the door, murder in his eyes because he would surely believe that Aruto was taking advantage of his son?

Jin’s hands moved to Aruto’s backside, pulling him closer until their bodies were flush against one another, and they both moaned into the kiss. Jin’s fingers fumbled with Aruto’s jeans, but he drew back slightly, catching the Humagear’s hands in his.

“I want to do something for you,” Aruto blurted.

Jin eyes were wide and confused, but he finally managed to nod, not knowing what Aruto had planned. 

Aruto guided Jin into sitting in the easy chair, and his hands busied themselves with Jin’s jeans, unfastening them as quickly as he could manage, kneeling down so he could draw them downward.

Were they going to have sex? This was an odd setup if they were, but Jin was curious enough to see where Aruto was going with this, lifting his hips so Aruto could tug his jeans down.

Then the head of his shaft was slipping past Aruto’s lips, and Jin expelled a soft gasp. “Ahh…Aruto…I should be doing that to you…”

Aruto drew back, his eyes meeting Jin’s in the room’s soft glow. “I’d like to do it for you. If you want me to, that is.” Jin nodded eagerly, and Aruto smiled before lowering his head and beginning to take Jin into his mouth once again.

It felt…good. _Really_ good. Oh…the further Aruto took him in, the better it felt. Jin whimpered softly, his eyes lulling shut. Oh _wow_ …

Aruto chuckled softly, and the vibrations around his cock sent a jolt through Jin’s body, and a loud groan left his lips. He slapped a hand over his mouth immediately, and their eyes met for a moment, as if they both feared that the No Sex Allowed police would be coming through the door at any time. But the minutes passed, and nothing happened, until Aruto’s tongue swirled over the head of Jin’s shaft, and he stifled a soft mewl against his hand.

Jin had never really given blowjobs much thought in the past. Truthfully…he didn’t like them. He’d always been forced into giving them, being treated like nothing more than a wet hole for some nasty human to use until they got off. But it hadn’t mattered how he felt; he could either pretend to enjoy the act, or he would be forcefully used by whoever his client was. Not a single one of them had reciprocated, and truthfully, Jin had never even considered it to be an option.

Not until now.

And it was Aruto. Aruto’s lips travelling along his length, Aruto’s soft sounds of enjoyment as he worked him, Aruto’s fingers lightly ghosting across his balls.

Jin’s teeth sank into his hand as he came without warning, his entire body shaking as he felt himself shooting into Aruto’s mouth, ending on a soft whimper as he felt Aruto’s throat moving as he swallowed every last drop until there was nothing left, and he sagged bonelessly against the chair’s soft cushions, his hand dropping away from his mouth with a soft, contented sigh.

Fingers brushed across Jin’s cheek, and he finally opened his eyes to see Aruto looking at him fondly. “Good?”

“Mmmhmm. _So_ good,” Jin murmured sleepily. “Aruto is so kind…”

“It doesn’t have to do with kindness,” Aruto murmured. “That’s how it is, when…when you’re with someone you care about. You’re equals.”

Jin didn’t know what to say for the longest time. Aruto…cared about him? 

“We should probably go back downstairs,” Aruto finally said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he tugged Jin’s jeans up, fastening them carefully, before pressing a gentle kiss to Jin’s lips. “Are you ok?”

Jin drew Aruto onto his lap, meeting his lips in a soft, rather tentative kiss that quickly turned into something much more intense, until Aruto had to all but drag himself away from Jin’s wonderfully tempting lips. “If you keep that up…I’ll want to forget about being cautious. But I don’t have anything with me.”

“Hmm…” Jin’s fingers delved into Aruto’s suit jacket, and with a grin, he withdrew yet another small box of condoms and bottle of lube. 

A soft laugh left Aruto’s lips as he silently thanked Izu, then leaned in and asked Jin how he would feel about letting Aruto ride him.

He thought he liked it quite a bit, and insisted on doing it a second time, just to make sure.


	25. Chapter 25

When Fuwa woke up, he blinked sleepily, wondering why he was in bed when the sun was still peeking past the blinds. Then he registered the arms that were still wrapped around him, the warm body he was still curled up against, and the soft lips that he couldn’t stop kissing earlier were pressing gently to his forehead. 

“Did you sleep well?” Horobi murmured.

Fuwa made a soft sound, a mix of affirmation and contentedness. There was a rather pleasant soreness in his lower body from their earlier activities, and overall, he just felt…good. There was no other way to put it. He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t woken up feeling tense, or more tired than he had been when he’d gone to bed the night before. 

“I don’t want to let you go,” Horobi said, his voice barely above a whisper, as he leaned in to press his lips to Fuwa’s. “But we should go and retrieve Jin. It’s been a little over two hours.” His fingers trailed through Fuwa’s hair. “Perhaps a shower is in order first. Your hair is…a bit more chaotic than usual.”

Fuwa’s hand went up to his hair, as if confirming Horobi’s words, and he frowned. “A shower might be a good idea, anyway, so we don’t show up smelling like sex.”

Horobi nodded, but even so, he made no move to release Fuwa. “Today has been so wonderful. Watching you interact with Jin earlier…being able to be alone with you like this…making love to you…holding you as you slept. I never thought that I would be able to experience anything like this. And now that I have, I don’t want it to end. I don’t know if I can go back to treating you like nothing more than a normal human. And yet, I don’t want anyone else to know. I want to keep this, keep _you_ , as my own. Does that make me selfish?” 

“Horobi…”

Horobi’s arms went around Fuwa, drawing him into an embrace, and Fuwa couldn’t help but wrap his arms around the Humagear. “It might be easier if they know,” he finally replied. “We wouldn’t need to sneak around, looking for moments like this. We could just…be together, whenever we wanted.”

“Your job…”

Fuwa sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I feel as though they’re going to figure out a way to fire me, regardless of what happens between us. There’s definitely something fishy going on with AIMS, and if that’s the case, then it’s not a place where I want to be.” He drew back just far enough to meet Horobi’s gaze. “This isn’t a decision we have to make right now, though. We can take our time and make sure that we want to take that step. Ok?”

Fuwa trailed off, leaning his forehead against Horobi’s. “All I know for certain is that I want to be with you. Even if it’s like this…you’re precious to me, and…”

Before he could complete the thought, Horobi’s lips were meeting his, and Fuwa found himself returning the kiss as fiercely as he could. Horobi coaxed Fuwa onto his back, moving to straddle his hips after he grabbed the bottle of lube, Fuwa’s eyes following his every move.

“I want you inside me, Isamu,” Horobi breathed, pressing the bottle into his hand. “Like the first time we were together.” 

Fuwa wanted to protest; Horobi had made love to him so slowly and tenderly, yet this would be the second time where it felt as though Fuwa had to rush with him. But if they took too much time, it was entirely possible that Jin or Aruto would come knocking. He didn’t want to feel as though they were pawning Jin off to Aruto when they wanted a little time alone like this, even if Jin seemed to enjoy spending time with the young CEO. 

“Isamu…it’s all right,” Horobi said, as he watched Fuwa’s features change slightly with each thought that flitted through his head. “I was equipped to not need much preparation before being penetrated.”

“That’s not the point,” Fuwa said, his words ending on a soft huff. Just because he _could_ rush things didn’t mean that he _wanted_ to! But Horobi wanted him _now_ , and he could not bring himself to say no. He felt as though he wouldn’t be able to deny Horobi anything at this point. He wanted the Humagear to be happy and content, always. Anything he could do to keep sadness from Horobi’s features, he would do it. 

Finally, Fuwa poured some of the lube onto his fingers, drawing Horobi closer and pressing soft kisses to his neck as he traced his slick finger across his hole. “Next time,” he whispered against the Humagear’s skin, as he began to press his finger inside. “Next time, we’re going to take it slow. You deserve to be treated gently.” He heard Horobi’s breath catch, followed by a soft moan as he began working him to readiness, adding a second finger. “I want to take my time with you. Kiss every inch of your body, and see what you enjoy the most. No rushing.”

“Isamu…” Horobi breathed, pushing back against Fuwa’s fingers. “I need you now, please..!”

Fuwa drew him down into a gentle, thorough kiss, even as he removed his fingers, rolling a condom onto his length before pressing the head of his shaft against Horobi, making a small sound of surprise deep in his throat when Horobi rocked back against him, bringing him inside in one smooth motion.

They parted with soft groans of pleasure, and Horobi wasted no time in setting his pace, his gaze locked on Fuwa. Their eyes only fluttered closed for mere moments when pleasure overcame them, but then they would open them again, drinking in the sight before them. Horobi’s pace increased, and Fuwa’s hands went to his hips, his breathing labored, until he came deep inside the Humagear’s body, Horobi’s name on his lips. Only a few moments more passed before Horobi was breathing Fuwa’s name as he climaxed.

They remained that way, trembling in each other’s arms for several minutes, before Fuwa ran his fingers up Horobi’s back.

“I know,” Horobi murmured against Fuwa’s ear.

Even so, it took several minutes more before Fuwa finally slid from Horobi’s body, and he couldn’t help but press soft kisses to the Humagear’s neck, his face, before settling on his lips. When they finally parted, Horobi reluctantly rose from the bed, as Fuwa removed the condom, tying it off and dropping it into the small trash can beside the bed.

Then Horobi was taking his hands and drawing him to his feet, his arms sliding around his waist and drawing him close once again. “You make me happy, Fuwa Isamu,” he finally said.

Horobi’s voice was so soft that Fuwa wasn’t certain if he had been meant to hear the words, but he’d heard them, and he felt such warmth swelling in his chest that he had to compose himself for a moment. Even so, his voice was thick with emotion when he replied, “You’ve made me happy too, Horobi. I’m so grateful…”

He felt Horobi’s fingers brush across his cheek, and he blinked, feeling tears slipping past his eyelashes. 

“I think…I would like Jin to know about us, for now. I think that he suspected something, anyway…he told me that I had to make Valentine chocolate for you since you are ‘my agent’,” Horobi finally said.

Fuwa chuckled softly. “He’s pretty smart. I guess we weren’t fooling anybody, huh?”

“It would seem so,” Horobi replied, taking Fuwa’s hand and leading him into the bathroom, turning on the shower and retrieving towels for them both.

“Is it ok for you to be in the shower? I mean…I guess you’re waterproof, right?” Fuwa mused, suddenly feeling foolish about how little he knew about Humagear workings. “It won’t affect your…um…” Finally he trailed off and gestured at the area where his modules had once been.

Horobi shook his head. “The exposed portions were sealed, to prevent foreign particles getting into my inner workings. There was no one skilled enough to repair me beyond that at the time,” he explained, before taking Fuwa’s hand and bringing it up to the side of his head. “It’s quite waterproof. Even Humagears require cleaning on occasion, and we can find showers or baths pleasant.”

Horobi trailed off as Fuwa’s fingers brushed very carefully across the faint cracks that had been left behind, sanded down so a customer wouldn’t cut their fingers. But then, it wasn’t as if anyone ever touched his face, when there were other parts that could be manhandled, he thought absently.

Fuwa, however, was tracing his fingers along the cracks, not seeming to care that they were even there. Horobi recalled a handful of customers in the past who had complained that they were not getting a “perfect” Humagear, who took their displeasure out on him by being needlessly rough, or they would simply fuck him from behind so they wouldn’t need to see the cracks.

Fuwa’s fingers brushed against the very edge of the area where his modules had once sat, and Horobi sucked in a sharp breath. A Humagear’s modules were incredibly sensitive—and having them ripped off had been nothing short of excruciating. Horobi had been careful to not touch the area where they had sat, feeling that it would bring back traumatic memories that he wished he could purge from his databanks. But Fuwa’s touch was gentle, inquisitive, and even though the modules were no longer present, it sent a pleasant jolt through Horobi’s body .

Fuwa pulled his hand back, his eyes wide. “Sorry! Did that hurt?”

“No…the opposite, actually,” Horobi murmured, drawing Fuwa into the shower. Before today, he never would have allowed anyone, human or Humagear, to touch the damaged portion of his head. Jin had never tried to; he seemed to sense that it was something that Horobi did not want to be reminded of.

Fuwa moved closer, his lips brushing so close to the damaged portion, and Horobi couldn’t help but moan softly from the contact. 

“It feels good when I do that?” Fuwa murmured. 

“Y-yes. It’s a very sensitive portion of…”

Horobi found himself unable to complete the sentence as Fuwa ran the tip of his tongue along the very edge, where the cracked skin led to the sealed-off inner workings, and a louder moan left his lips. A finger trailed along the other side of his head, and Horobi’s arm went around Fuwa, drawing him closer. He leaned against the tile of the shower wall, another moan coaxed from his lips as Fuwa’s fingers wrapped around his shaft and began to slowly pump him, even as he gently explored the sensitive areas on Horobi’s head. 

It was indescribable. 

“Isamu…” he breathed. “Ahh…please…don’t stop.” A low groan echoed in his throat. “Feels so good, baby, please..!”

Before he knew what was happening, his orgasm threatened to drag him under, and he cried out in pleasure, perhaps louder than was absolutely necessary, but it had felt so, so good, so intimate.

“Horobi?” Fuwa felt a bit alarmed, hoping he hadn’t done something that had harmed Horobi. The inner lights that usually glowed a soft purple had begun cycling through different colors, growing brighter and brighter as they'd pulsed through Horobi's orgasm, until they’d faded back to that normal soft purple. 

Was…was that normal?

Horobi looked at him, his eyes half-closed, and he looked for all the world like a human who had just experienced the most incredible orgasm of their lives. And maybe he had, Fuwa thought to himself, noticing the cum that was splattered across his abdomen. “Horobi? Are you…ok?”

Horobi made a soft sound of affirmation, directing a blissful smile at Fuwa. “That felt amazing,” he said, his eyes closing. “I had never considered such a thing…the modules are incredibly sensitive to touch, but…”

“I thought I’d broken something,” Fuwa admitted. “It must have been pretty good for you, though. You came a lot more than usual.”

Horobi opened his eyes again, a look of confusion directed at Fuwa, until he noticed the splatters on his body. “That’s…strange. Output shouldn’t be affected unless my settings were adjusted.”

“’Output’ doesn’t sound sexy at all,” Fuwa said, and they both chuckled softly. “Your inner lights, too, those went crazy as you got closer to orgasm, then they faded back to normal.”

“Interesting,” Horobi murmured. “I will need to look into that at a later date.” He leaned in to brush his lips across Fuwa’s. “How do we keep getting distracted like this? We need to bathe. Otherwise…I will want to wrap myself around you and never let you go.”

“I know the feeling,” Fuwa murmured, but he nodded. “You’re right, though.”

They quickly cleaned themselves up and were out of the shower in record time, drying themselves off and sliding their clothing back on. “I still need to see about getting more clothes,” Fuwa muttered.

“I agree with what Jin said earlier,” Horobi said. “You should wear something other than suits. You look quite nice in casual clothing.”

“Maybe, but I like to look professional, even if my employment is up in the air,” Fuwa replied with a shrug. “That’s something to think about later, though. Let’s head down and see how Jin is doing. Hopefully he hasn’t gotten too bored.”

They left the room after Fuwa slid his keycard into his pocket, and they made their way toward the elevator. When the door to Horobi and Jin’s room opened, Fuwa quickly stepped in front of Horobi, expecting the worst.

When Jin stepped out of the room, followed by Aruto, there were surprised looks all around. 

“Oh! Papa…Fuwafuwa-san…did you both get some rest?” Jin asked.

Horobi nodded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why are you up here? We were supposed to pick you up from Hiden’s office.”

“We came up here so I could get the orb set up,” Jin stated. When Horobi and Fuwa both gave him a confused look, he opened the door once again, waving them inside. “Come see!”

When they were all in the room, they noticed the small brightly-lit object that hadn’t been there earlier, and Jin grinned. “See? Aruto gave it to me for Valentine’s Day. Isn’t it neat?”

It was pretty stunning in the otherwise dark room, Fuwa thought to himself, but as the lights cycled through, his attention was drawn to something that lay on the floor, between the small end table and the chair beside it. And that “something” looked suspiciously like a condom wrapper. If that were the case, he definitely didn’t want Horobi seeing it.

Step one: gathering the evidence, he thought to himself, taking a step closer toward the orb, and he crouched down to eye-level, as if to get a better look at it. “That _is_ pretty cool,” he agreed. “And practical. Oh, it has a USB charger?” He leaned closer, and in doing so, caught the wrapper between his fingers. As he got to his feet, he put his hands in his pockets, aiming for a casual stance so as not to draw attention to himself.

Even so, he noticed Aruto look his direction, and he must have gotten a glimpse of the small square in his hand, because even in the room’s dim lighting, Fuwa swore the young man’s face went pink, before he quickly averted his gaze, suddenly looking very interested in his sneakers. 

Oh geez, Fuwa thought to himself. He wondered if he should try to have a man-to-man talk with Aruto. And how would that work? He couldn’t speak to him in front of the Humagears, and he didn’t want to leave them unattended. And if he tried to speak to Aruto alone in the lab while the Humagears were in his office, they could still be overheard.

This was indeed a sticky situation.

“Papa, you still look sleepy,” Jin said. “Are you ok? You’re fully charged, right?”

Horobi nodded, surprising everyone with a rather genuine smile. “I’m fine, Jin. I feel better today than I have in some time.” He looked at Aruto, who seemed to shrink under his gaze. “Thank you for taking time out of your day to stay with Jin. It is much appreciated.”

“Oh…oh, it’s no problem at all!” Aruto said, feeling slightly weirded-out by how nice Horobi was being.

“Fuwafuwa-san, your clothes are all wrinkled! Did you sleep in them?” Jin said, his tone slightly scolding. “I thought humans slept in pajamas.”

“Well…yeah, usually, but I don’t have a lot of clothes with me. That reminds me,” Fuwa said, trailing off as he looked at Aruto. “Can we work something out tomorrow so I can run out and buy a few things? I feel bad having to bother your housekeeping service.”

Aruto thought for a moment, then nodded, an idea beginning to form in his head. “You know what? I might be able to work out something better. Give me till tomorrow afternoon, though.” He barely managed to smother a yawn behind his hand. “For now, I guess I should head home.”

“Aww. Oh! Does this mean we’re having another sleepover in Fuwafuwa-san’s room?” Jin asked. “Can I bring my orb and plug it in somewhere?”

“Of course,” Fuwa replied, watching Jin prepare the items he’d be bringing to occupy himself that evening, before he patted Aruto’s shoulder and leaned in to murmur, “I need to talk to you tomorrow. Alone.”

Before the orb was switched off, Fuwa definitely saw a hint of guilt in Aruto’s eyes.


End file.
